There is no doubt that eating lots of fruit and vegetables is important for disease prevention and improving your overall health. Did you know that if just one half of the U.S. population were to increase fruit and vegetable consumption by a single serving per day, estimated twenty thousand cancer cases might be avoided each year (1).
Whether you are already eating lots of fresh fruit and vegetables or you have decided to add more fresh produce to your diet, knowing the health benefits is the key to stay on track. It is also important to know where to source all the produce to get the most out of your money spent. Here are some insights you might find helpful.
Why eating fruit and vegetables matter?
Eating fruit and vegetables is important to keep your immune system strong so it can effectively work against pathogens (viruses, bacteria and fungi) and environmental toxins (pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, petrochemicals, cosmetics, household cleaners, food additives, colognes, perfumes and pharmaceuticals) that we are exposed on every day basis.
More colours more nutrients
Raw fruit and vegetables contain a special class of micronutrients called phytonutrients that have antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer and detoxification effects within your body. Each colour contains a unique class of phytonutrients that have specific health benefits for your body. This is why eating the rainbow helps your body receive all the important disease fighting elements it needs to stay strong and well-nourished.
The quality matters
Fruit and vegetables contain the maximum nutritional value the moment they are harvested. Immediately after they are picked, they start losing the content of micronutrients. Storing them in a fridge will slow down their deterioration but would not avoid it.
This is why buying local seasonal produce matters. It reduces the need for transport and storage, allowing you to get fresh produce with maximum nutrient content. This is often not the case in the large supermarket chains where fresh produce is stored for extensive periods in their cooling rooms before making it to the produce aisle.
Why washing is important?
Washing your fruit and vegetables is important as it helps to remove dirt, bacteria and viruses that might be present on the produce. It also helps to remove chemical residual from conventional produce before eating. Non-organic conventional fruit and vegetables are sprayed with synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fungicide.
Rinsing produce under running water generally removes less then half of the pesticide residue (1). The best method is to rinse and scrub their skin under running water and then soak your produce for a few minutes in a veggie wash solution. You can achieve the same result if you use vinegar or salt bath in the place of the veggie wash. Always make sure that you carefully rinse all your produce after soaking to remove the salt, vinegar or veggie wash.
Wax Explained
However, some produce like apples is waxed with synthetic coating to prolong their shelf-life. The majority of apples available in the supermarkets have had wax applied and you can recognize them by their shiny look. Applying wax to the produce locks in pesticide and herbicides, making it difficult to wash them off at home. This is why it’s best is to shop for non-waxed produce. If waxed produce is your only option, always peel the skin off before eating.
Dirty Dozen Explained
Each year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes its ranking of produce and pesticide residues in its Dirty Dozen & Clean Fifteen lists. The “dirty dozen” refers to produce that have the highest amount of pesticide residues and should be carefully washed or their skin pealed before eating. The “clean fifteen” list describes the fifteen fruit and vegetable that have the lowest amount of pesticide residue.
Does organic matter?
If you grow your own or buy certified organic produce, you have the guarantee that your fruit and vegetable is pesticide and herbicide-free. This can make a difference for your health, especially when you are already dealing with chronic illness or want to prevent disease. Pesticide use has been linked to wide range of diseases like cancer, asthma and Alzheimer’s disease (2).
When eating organic produce, you also don’t have to worry about peeling the skin that is in most cases the most nutritious part of the produce. It also reduces the time you spent on soaking your fruit and vegetables before eating.
However, if you don’t have access to organic produce or you can’t afford it, the benefits of eating conventional fruit and vegetables far outweighs the potential risk you may get from pesticide residue.
I like to get organic produce whenever I can, especially when I shop for hard-to-wash and highly sprayed produce like leafy green vegetables, celery, tomatoes and berries. But the concern about pesticides doesn’t stop me from eating lots of conventional fruit and vegetable when organic produce is not available.
The power of farmer’s market
There are so many reasons and benefits to shop for your fruit and veggies at farmer’s market. Let’s have a look at a few benefits below:
Local fresh produce
When you shop at farmer’s markets, you buy straight from local farmers so you have the guarantee that the produce is freshly harvest. Quite often, these growers pick their produce a day before the market so the produce is as fresh as it can get! This is a huge difference compared to large supermarket chains who store their produce for up to months in large refrigerated coolers in the back room.
No wax
If you are not a big fan of waxed produce like apples, cucumbers or bell peppers (I know I’m definitely not), you will like that local farmers do not typically apply wax to their produce. For non-waxed conventional produce, it is much easier to wash away any pesticide residue and eat them without the need to peel the the waxed skin.
Get to know your grower
Shopping at the market regularly will give you the opportunity to get to know your local farmer. You can ask him questions what’s new in season and what methods they use to grow their produce. Most of them are very friendly and proud to share their practices.
There is a lot of farmers who do not spray their produce but don’t have an organic certification which is usually quite expensive to get. The benefit of spray-free produce is that its cheaper but with the same benefits as certified organic produce.
If you want the guarantee of certified organic produce, there is often a number of growers who you can buy their produce directly from. The price is often more affordable than you pay at specialized organic shops.
Delivery Service
The majority of local organic growers offer online ordering and delivery service of their seasonal produce straight to your door. You can typically order a box of mixed seasonal produce in different sizes or be more specific and design your own box based on your weekly preference. This is a great option when you are away or too busy on the weekend to make it down to your local market.
The power of frozen fruit and vegetables
Buying frozen fruit and vegetables is a great way to access high quality produce thanks to the flash-freeze technology. This method allows growers flash-freeze their produce with the 24 hours after harvesting it, making it possible to lock in key vitamins, minerals and preserving taste. This means they can harvest their produce at the peak of ripeness to achieve the optimal nutrient content which is often not possible for fruit and vegetables that are distributed as fresh produce.
Shopping for frozen fruit and vegetables is a very convenient way to stack up your freezer for the busy weeks when you don’t have time to run to the shop for fresh produce. It also makes it possible to enjoy the benefits from eating some highly seasonal produce like berries all your round. Often, it is also much easier to find organic produce with more affordable price.
Eating tips
Eating fruit and vegetables is one of the most important food to add to your diet to optimize your health and fight disease. There should be always plenty of fruit and vegetables around your house that you can snack on or turn them into a main meal.
As a simple rule for lunch or dinner, at least half the plate should be filled with raw, steamed or roasted vegetables. But it doesn’t stop there. You can add vegetables into everything you cook – it is so easy to make stews, soups or patties that include vegetables which you can’t see but the benefits are still there. Win-win situation.
Fruit is ideal food for snacks between meals but it is also great for fruit-based breakfast options like smoothies or fruit bowls. The sky is the limit when it comes to eating fruit.
Would you like to learn more on how to integrate fruit and vegetables in your diet? Check out Plant Oceans recipes for inspiration.
References
- Michael Greger M.D., 2015, How not to die, London UK.
- Beyond Pesticides, 2021, https://www.beyondpesticides.org/
- EWG’s 2021 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/
- Australian Farmers’ Markets Association, 2021, https://farmersmarkets.org.au/
