The Five Best Fruits

April 14, 2011 | Health & Wellness

Photo: @wallpaperslibrary.comIt’s nice to know that healthy food can taste good as well. When it comes to taste and nutritional value, nothing beats mother earth’s natural food – fruits. They abound in local stores and markets and they can be easily grown in your own backyard. Of course, not all fruits are the same. Some fruits have that distinctive taste that makes your mouth water just to look at it, while others don’t. And there are fruits that are high in essential nutrients while some are lacking or impoverished.

Listed below are the top 5 fruits that give you the best of both worlds – their delectable taste and their health-giving benefits. They are ranked according to their succulent taste and nutritional value based on surveys and popularity rating.

1.     Lime – We seldom eat lime for snacks, if at all. Most of the time, limes are used for juices and to add flavor to our favorite dishes and delicacies. Commonly found in the U.S., they usually taste sour although there are also sweet varieties of lime found in other countries. Every 61-gram serving contains 45% of our daily vitamin C needs plus flavonoid compounds that fight aging and cancer as well as antibiotic properties.

2.     Lemons – Lemons and limes belong to the same class of citrus fruits and are also known as good sources of vitamin C. They’re not usually eaten as a snack but used as a flavor enhancer for food preparations. It also contains flavonoids and other compounds that help in the healing process of damaged cells. Like most citrus fruits, they also boost the immune system and help fight against certain infections.

3.     Bananas – They’re rich, sweet, creamy, and packed with all the goodness of vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, and manganese under the Food Rating System Chart. They usually grow along the tropics like the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia where they are grown and harvested all year round. Definitely a favorite for people all ages and sports enthusiasts because of its high energy content and other properties that promote cardiovascular integrity.

4.     Oranges – Among all fruits, nothing is more popular and available worldwide. Juicy, succulent, sweet, and pulpy – oranges are great for snacks or as a flavor enhancer for your favorite dishes. They’re great value comes from the fact that it has more than enough vitamin C content with every 131 gram serving and other essential nutrients such as dietary fiber, folate, vitamin B1, potassium, vitamin A, and calcium as indicated in the Food Rating System. Because of their ability to boost the immune system, prevent premature aging and growth of cancer cells, oranges have become synonymous to protection.

5.     Apples – The fabled fruit is perhaps the most widely accepted as the best of all the fruits. It has become famous for the common expression “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Although partially true, other fruits like oranges and bananas are also necessary to maintain health and well-being. It ranks as number one largely for its popularity. Every 138-gram serving contains 15% of our needed dietary fiber, and 14% vitamin C. Apples are known for their antioxidant properties that fight free radicals that cause premature aging, and lower the risk of certain cancers.

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