Don’t Forget Your Fruit

Summer and fall are great seasons to eat fresh fruits from your local farmers market.

Not only does fruit taste absolutely delicious, but it provides many health benefits as well. Most fruits are low in calories and high in nutritients and can play a part in reducing health risks.

Recommended fruit intake depends on age and gender but for most adults ranges between 1 ½ to 2 cups daily, according to choosemyplate.gov. Here are some other fruit facts:

• Fruit that’s part of an overal healthy diet may protect against certain types of cancers.
• Fruits rich in fiber may reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes.
• Fruits rich in potassium can help reduce blood pressure (bananas, prune juice, dried peaches and apricots, cantaloupe, honeydew melon and orange juice).
• Fruits are packed with nutrients, ranging from vitamin C to folate and potassium.

Helpful Tips

Hy-Vee Dietitian Anna Schroeder has a few tips to help you eat more fruit:

• Keep a bowl of fresh fruit at the ready on your table or counter.
• Cut up fruit and refrigerate for later or buy prepackaged or precut fruits at the store. Hy-Vee has many options to choose from.
• Try to incorporate more fuits into your snacks, including dried fruit.
• Top your cereal or oatmeal with banana slices or fresh berries.
• Add fruit to your main meal (pineapple or peaches on kabobs, apples in a salad).