Healthy Living

Vitamins and Minerals – Which Fruit To Choose?

Health is always a hot topic and with rising fears over obesity, an aging population and a few diseases we still can’t cure, it’s likely to remain so. As well as exercise, it’s important to have a healthy diet, including your five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. From birth onwards it is essential to choose the right fruit to get the essential vitamins and minerals we need. These help our bodies to grow, to process the food we eat, to fight illness and much more. Hormones, reproduction and healthy bones are just a few of the areas that vitamins and minerals cover.

But how do you know which fruits pack the greatest nutritional punch?

If you’re going to eat fruit, then you want to be sure you’re getting some nutritional value from it. Here’s a guide to the vitamin and mineral content in common fruit and a few exotic favorites.

  • Apple – A, C, E, Folic Acid (vitamins); calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, selenium (minerals)
  • Avocado – A, C, B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B6, Niacin, Folic Acid, Pantothenic Acid (vitamins); calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium (minerals)
  • Banana – A, C, E, B6, Niacin, Folic Acid, Pantothenic Acid (vitamins); calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, (minerals)
  • Blackberry – A, C, E, Folic Acid (vitamins); calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc (minerals)
  • Cantaloupe – A, C, Niacin, Folic Acid (vitamins); calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium (minerals)
  • Grape – A, C, B6, Folic Acid (vitamins); calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium (minerals)
  • Kiwi – A, B2, B6, C, E, Niacin and Folic Acid (vitamins); calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc (minerals)
  • Lemon – A, C (vitamins); calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium (minerals)
  • Lime – A, C, Folic Acid (vitamins); calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium (minerals)
  • Mango – A, B2, B6, C, E, Niacin and Folic Acid (vitamins); calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium (minerals)
  • Orange – A, C, B1 (thiamine), Folic Acid, Pantothenic Acid (vitamins); calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium (minerals)
  • Peach – A, C, Niacin, Folic Acid (vitamins); calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium (minerals)
  • Strawberry – A, C, Folic Acid (vitamins); calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium (minerals)
  • Tomato – A, C, Niacin, Folic Acid, B6 (vitamins); calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium,  sodium (minerals)
  • Watermelon – A, C, B1 (thiamine), Niacin, B6, Folic Acid (vitamins); calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium (minerals)

With all these to choose from, you’re sure to find a fruit you like, so there’s no excuse for avoiding healthy eating.

 

Sharon Hurley Hall writes for Eden Springs, the UK’s No 1. water cooler supplier and the first in the UK to provide certified carbon neutral water.

Karla Urwitz
Follow Me

One thought on “Vitamins and Minerals – Which Fruit To Choose?

Comments are closed.