Significance of Fruits in a Healthy Lifestyle

Submitted by : Gunjan Seth K. Vijayalakshmi Submitted To : Ms. Jaya

Date : 7th March 2011 Course Title : HS-101 Technical Communication

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Firstly we would like to thank Ms. Jaya, our Technical Communication (practical) teacher for assigning us this interesting task and guiding us throughout it.

We would also like to thank Mrs. Smita Jha, our Technical Communication (theory) teacher for her informative lectures that taught us how to prepare reports and presentations. Her invaluable directions and noteworthy tips proved to be really beneficial during the course of our project.

We are grateful to our parents, friends and batch mates for their ideas, help and enthusiasm.

LIST OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction 2. Importance of Fruits

3. Nutritional Contents of Fruits Vitamins Table Minerals Table Evaluation of the Charts 4. Health Benefits of some Common Fruits Apples Citrus Fruits Bananas Mangoes Water Melon 5. References

INTRODUCTION
Being healthy is not merely the absence of diseases, rather is the physical, mental, and social well being of an individual. A healthy lifestyle is one that incorporates in itself a variety of aspects, such as a balanced diet, regular physical activity, a peaceful mind, pollution free surroundings, and pleasant socialization among others. A Balanced diet plays an important role in the health of an individual. Appropriate servings of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals in the food we eat; provides us with energy, nourishes our body, and prevents diseases. A nutritious diet ensures well being, helps to maintain a healthy Body Mass Index (BMI), and reduces the risk of several debilitating diseases like cancer, diabetes, stroke, etc. Fruits are a vital source of vitamins and minerals for our body. Fruits, fresh or dried have been natural staple diet for human beings since ancient times. Replete with minerals, vitamins, and enzymes, they are easily digestible. Eaten raw or consumed as fresh juices, fruits are an excellent way to replenish the moisture level in a body. The vitamins and minerals in fruits prevent ailments, stimulate rapid healing of illnesses, and assist in fast clotting of blood on wounds. Fruits are also completely free of bad cholesterol, so are an important substitute to food itineraries for people on salt-free diets. The roughage and fibers in fruits cleans the digestive tract and aids easy bowel action. Also many fresh fruits and juices refresh moods and rejuvenate spirits. Fruits like apple, lemon, orange and pomegranate aid in proper functioning of the heart. Nutrients in apples, dates and mangoes sharpens memory, prevents exhaustion, hysteria, insomnia and mental tension. All forms of berries are rich in iron, phosphorus and sodium; and thus assist in blood building and nerve strengthening. Lemons are good for liver ailments, indigestion and rheumatism. Watermelons are good kidney cleansers. Pineapple and pomegranates help in soothing inflammation of nose, throat, hay fever and other chronic or bronchial ailments. Grapefruit juice is an effective aid for common cold. Fresh and ripe fruits like grapes, apples, bananas and figs are good for all brain deficiencies. Guavas, papaya, and oranges are an excellent source of Vitamin C and carotene, which converts to Vitamin A in the body. Dry fruits like apricots, raisins and dates are a storehouse of calcium, iron, essential for strengthening of bones and good blood respectively. Even the kernel of walnut is a helpful remedy for weakness of the brain. However, cooking of fruits should be avoided as it results in loss of nutrient salts and carbohydrates. Eating cut fruits in the market should be avoided. Also fruits should be thoroughly washed before consumption. Many people prefer to take fruits in breakfast with milk. Eating liberal amount of fruits daily ensures an active and energetic life.

IMPORTANCE OF FRUITS
At least 3-5 servings of fruits should be consumed by us daily in a balanced diet. The following points explore the underlying benefits of fruits in a healthy lifestyle. The healing effect of Fruits Fruits are rich sources of vitamins and minerals. These help in prevention of various diseases, and provide relief in pain. Proper levels of these nutrients in our body aid against exhaustion, hysteria, insomnia and mental tension, inflammation of nose and throat, hay fever and other chronic or bronchial ailments. Liver problems, indigestion and rheumatism can also be cured via their help. Rich in Fiber A diet rich in plenty of fiber helps against corpulence, high blood pressure, and other factors that increase the chance for a heart disease. The American Heart Association advises to consume 25 to 30 grams of fibers out of fresh fruits and/or vegetables. Fruits are 100% bad-cholesterol free Bad-cholesterol is not good for our bodies and fruits(unlike animal products like meat and dairy), dont contain bad-cholesterol. The roughage clears the digestive tract and aids easy bowel action. Fruits stimulate the Memory Fruit is the ultimate brain fuel. Fruits contain natural sugars, that stimulate the brain to think faster and recall information quickly. Studies also report that students can improve their exam results, simply by refreshing their minds with fruits or by energizing themselves via fruit drinks! Consist of large amount of Water Like 80% of our body is water, so does 80% of fruit consist! There is no other food than fruit on this planet that contains on average 80% water. Thus, fruits replenish and help in balancing the water content of our body. Fruits make you feel better Frequently depressed people are reported to get out of their depression slowly but surely after consuming substantial amounts of fresh fruits on a regular basis. Fruits have a mysterious healing effect on human beings. Even better is to drink a lot of freshly squeezed fruit drinks on a regular basis. Ethical reasons to eat Fruits Fruits don't have to be killed and slaughtered before you can eat it. The fruits are just hanging there waiting to be picked by you. This ethical argument (often used by vegetarians and vegans to not eat meat) claims that fruit is a non-animal food.

NUTRITIONAL CONTENTS OF FRUITS

Vitamins Table
Food energy water fiber fat protein sugar vit.A vit.C vit.B1 vit.B2 vit.B6 vit.E % 84 87 80 85 76 92 89 86 83 81 84 96 91 82 84 93 87 91 89 86 84 82 84 91 g 2.3 2.1 8.4 8.7 2.7 3.3 4.2 1.2 2.2 5.3 2.1 1.8 0.3 1.5 1.0 0.6 1.8 0.6 1.4 2.1 1.2 3.4 2.2 2.2 g 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 g 0.4 1.0 1.0 2.0 1.2 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.6 1.0 1.1 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 0.3 0.4 1.0 0.8 0.7 g 11.8 8.0 11.0 8.0 20.4 2.2 4.0 13.0 15.5 17.0 8.8 3.0 7.0 18.0 8.0 10.6 8.0 7.9 11.5 12.0 17.0 9.6 5.1 ug 2 420 0 30 3 312 0 40 0 30 5 0 0 0 30 2 40 15 0.0 20 10 18 10 mg 15 5 10 150 10 2 15 10 3 218 70 40 40 39 53 6 49 46 7 4 25 7 5 60 mg 0.02 0.06 0.02 0.08 0.04 0.03 0.00 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.01 0.06 0.03 0.05 0.05 0.04 0.07 0.03 0.01 0.01 0.07 0.05 0.02 0.02 mg 0.01 0.05 0.03 0.04 0.03 0.04 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.04 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.05 0.06 0.05 0.03 0.04 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.03 mg 0.05 0.06 0.05 0.07 0.36 0.08 0.07 0.04 0.08 0.14 0.12 0.04 0.08 0.13 0.07 0.06 0.04 0.02 0.02 0.09 0.31 0.10 0.06 mg 0.5 0.5 1.9 1.0 0.3 0.2 0 0.1 0.6 1.9 0.8 1.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.7 0.4 substance = kJ/Kcal 100 g. Apple Apricot Blueberry Blackberry Banana Carrots Cranberry Cherry Grapes Guava Kiwi Fruit Lemon Lime Lychee Mango Orange Papaya Peach Pear Pineapple Plum Strawberry 207/49 153/36 204/48 170/40 375/88 48 /11 68 /16 221/52 274/64 306/72 168/40 51/12 156/37 323/76 255/60 198/47 136/32 151/36 201/47 211/50 177/42 99/23

15.0 210

Water Melon 153/36

Pomegranate 343/81

Minerals Table
Substance = 100 g. Apple Apricot Blueberry Blackberry Banana Carrots Cranberry Cherry Grapes Guava Kiwi Fruit Lemon Lime Lychee Mango Water Melon Orange Papaya Peach Pear Pineapple Pomegranate Plum Strawberry N/ mg 0.2 0.8 0.3 0.3 10 0.6 0.6 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.45 0.2 0.2 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.3 Na/ mg 2 2 0 5 2 35 2 2 5 4 5 5 9 2 3 0 4 4 5 2 2 7 2 1 K/ mg 121 300 70 300 357 218 75 240 210 290 330 150 179 182 214 158 147 221 182 114 200 290 197 189 Ca/ mg 4 20 5 30 5 29 15 20 14 20 29 10 25 9 10 10 37 20 4 6 12 8 8 15 P/ mg 11 20 12 50 25 27 10 30 16 25 31 25 15 33 10 11 17 15 22 11 8 17 22 29 Mg/ mg 5 12 5 17 29 7 7 10 8 12 13 9 11 10 18 11 10 8 8 5 17 11 7 13 Fe/ mg 0.2 0.8 0.3 1.0 0.4 0.4 1.0 0.5 0.3 0.7 0.3 0.1 0.4 0.4 0.8 0.4 0.1 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.5 0.3 0.5 Cu/ mg 0.02 0.06 0.08 0.14 0.09 0.03 0.05 0.07 0.05 0.10 0.13 0.05 0.05 0.15 0.12 0.03 0.08 0.06 0.03 0.11 0.17 0.04 0.04 Se/ ug 0 1 0 0 6 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Zn/ mg 0.04 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.15 0.17 0.20 0.06 0.06 0.20 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.10 0.07 0.30 0.10 0.06 0.1 0.40 0.09 0.12

Evaluation of the Charts

When we look at this table you see that one banana and a few strawberries give you as much as energy as an entire meal! As the interest in nutrition increases and people are getting more and more conscious about what they eat, the interest in fruit and its contents also grows. Following are the conclusions drawn out of the tables. Proteins - Fat - Sugar As the energy fruits contain consists of sugars the fruit is digested in 30 minutes. This chemical process has no toxic waste products that are difficult to remove from the body and it even stimulates the removing of toxic elements. The energy animal products contain consists of fat and proteins. Because of the high amount of proteins it is digested in 6-8 hours. This chemical process also produces toxic waste products that have to be removed from your body. Also proteins consist of amino acids and our body uses 20 different amino-acids. There are 8 aminoacids that our body cannot produce itself. They are called the essential amino-acids and our bodies have to obtain them through nutrition. There are many fruits and vegetables that contain all of the eight essential amino acids in the single fruit or veg. This means that it's not necessary to consume animal products to obtain the proteins that contain the essential amino acids our body needs. The following fruits and vegetables contain all 8 essential amino acids: Bananas, tomatoes, cucumbers. Energy in Fruits Everything that we eat or drink has to be digested to extract the energy from it. Our body can extract energy from fruits by burning with oxygen, to release energy. The energy fruit contains is in the form of sugars (glucose). Our body can easily turn this glucose into energy by using oxygen. When the body burns the sugars with the help of oxygen there are waste products produced. The waste products of this chemical reaction are water and carbon-dioxide. Our body can use the water and disposes of the carbon-dioxide through the lungs by breathing. It is a very quick, clean and easy way to extract energy. Fruit juice takes only about 15 minutes and raw fruit about 30 minutes to digest. Fibers Another remarkable difference between animal food and fruits is that fruits contain a substantial amount of fibers while animal based products don't contain any. Fibers are very important. Water The water percentage of fruit (80%) is higher than that of meat (15%) and comes more near the water percentage of the human body (80%).

HEALTH BENEFITS OF SOME COMMON FRUITS

APPLES An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Following are the reported health benefits of apples: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Apple is a rich source of flavonoid and polyphenols(powerful antioxidants). Apples contain a large amount of minerals and vitamins that can strengthen the blood. Malic acid and tartaric acid present in apples, prevents liver and digestive disturbances. Apple cider vinegar (used as beverage) can help to prevent the formation of kidney stone. The skin of an apple contains pectin that can help remove toxic substances from the system by supplying galacturonic acid. 6. Apples have been recommended for : Obesity, Headache, Arthritis, Bronchial asthma, Inflammation of the bladder, Gonorrhea, Anemia, Tuberculosis, Neuritis, Insomnia, Catarrh, Gallbladder stones, Worms, Halithosis, Pyorrhea, etc.

CITRUS FRUITS Citrus fruits are nothing but acidic fruits that are rich in vitamin C content. There are different types of citrus fruits which have many beneficial effects on our health. Citrus fruits belong to the family called Rutaceae. Examples of citrus fruits are: orange, lime, lemon, grapefruit, tangerine, citron. Following are the health benefits associated with the consumption of citrus fruits: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Citrus fruits are rich in vitamin C content, acidic content and are good sources of minerals, carbohydrates and fibers. They also contain essential nutrients like calcium, copper, folate, potassium, magnesium, vitamin B6 required for the proper functioning of the body. Citrus fruits have several medicinal and nutritive properties, which help in treating or f ighting against several diseases. Citrus fruits like lemons may help in reducing the pain caused due to bee stings. Some types of citrus fruits may help in reducing the risk of cancers and heart diseases. Orange, which is a rich source of vitamin C can prevent scurvy. Some types of citrus fruits are sources of essential oils, which are used in perfumes and other cosmetic products.

BANANAS Health benefits of banana include: 1. 2. 3. 4. Bananas are good for heart and nerves since they contain a high dose of potassium. Bananas are good for kidneys and bones. Bananas can act as mood enhancers or mild sedatives. Bananas are good for blood-help in making heamoglobin. Contain vitamin B6 (that is important for converting tryptophan to serotonin). 5. Bananas are good source of dietary fiber. 6. Bananas are relatively cheap and easily available.

MANGOES One of the most delicious and most fattening fruits, mango is truly called the King of Fruits. A tropical fruit, it comes in as many as 1000 different varieties, each of them totally delectable. Health & Nutrition Benefits of Eating Mangoes are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. High in calories and carbohydrates, it is good for those who are trying to gain weight. The phenolic compound in mangoes has powerful antioxidant and anticancer properties. Rich in iron, mangoes are good for pregnant women and people suffering from anemia. Mango is believed to be effective in relieving clogged pores of the skin. Vitamin A, Vitamin E & selenium in mangoes provides protection against heart diseases. Mango has been found to be beneficial for people suffering from ailments like, Bacterial Infections, Diarrhea, Dysentery, Eye Disorders, Heat Stroke, Menstrual Disorders.

WATER MELON The health benefits of water melons are: 1. Water Melon contains a lot of potassium, which is very helpful in cleaning or washing off the toxic depositions in the kidneys. 2. Helps in reducing concentration of uric acid in the blood, thereby reducing the chances of kidney damages and formation of renal calculi in it. 3. The carotenoids present in them prevent hardening of walls of arteries and veins. 4. Effective in reducing body temperature (prevent heat strokes) and blood pressure. 5. Contains Lypocene, Beta carotene, known for their remarkable anti oxidant and anti aging properties. 6. Arginine, present in water melon, is beneficial in curing erectile dysfunctions. 7. Lypocene is found to be effective in preventing cancer, prostrate growth and repair damaged tissues.

REFERENCES
The following books and links played a significant role in the compilation of the project report and presentation:

1. Communication Skills for Engineers and Scientists By Sangeeta Sharma and Binod Mishra 2. www.foodsforhealth.com 3. www.fruits_nutrition.com 4. www.askhealthdoubts.com