Fight diseases with some wholesome fresh produce

Features

Related Photos

Mark Emmons

May 6, 2008

By LaDell Emmons The McAlester News-Capital Tue May 06, 2008, 10:06 AM CDT

The next time you are at the grocery store, be sure to wheel your cart in the direction of the fresh produce aisle. The health benefits in this section contribute to a healthy life.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fruits and vegetables contain essential vitamins, minerals and fiber that may help protect against chronic diseases.

People who eat more fruits and vegetables in their diet are likely to have a reduced risk of chronic disease. Incorporating fruits and vegetables into the diet can be done simply by spreading them out over the course of the day with meals and snacks. Have one serving with breakfast, lunch and a snack and a couple of servings with dinner.

Look for variety when choosing fruits and vegetables. When choosing variety, think color.

Choosing fruits and vegetables with different colors will give your body a wide range of valuable nutrients, including fiber, foliate, potassium and vitamins A and C. Examples include green spinach, orange sweet potatoes, yellow corn, red watermelon and white onions.

For additional variety, regularly try new fruits and vegetables in your diet.

To get the most out of the nutrients in produce, you need to buy only the amount of fruits and vegetables you can consume in a few days. Nutritional quality declines within three days of harvest. If you cannot eat it all in a few days, freeze it for later use.

You should wash produce before eating it. Rinse with cold water.

Do not use a detergent because residue may remain on or be absorbed by porous items.

The skin of produce is high in fiber and nutrients. Lightly scrub the vegetables and fruit in cold water before consuming. Put produce in the refrigerator’s crisper.

It has a higher level of humidity and will help maintain quality.

LaDell Emmons is the Extension Family and Consumer Sciences educator for the Pittsburg County Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service. Reach her at 423-4120 or e-mail ladell.emmons@okstate.edu.

Text Only

Features

Alexix Futisha is named Little Miss Choctaw
McAlester’s Alexis Futisha has been named Little Miss Choctaw for District 11.

May 28, 2012 1 Photo
10 Things to Know for Wednesday
2. FINANCIAL REGULATORS PROBING FACEBOOK IPO
They want to find out whether the bank that handled the sale, Morgan Stanley, selectively informed clients of an analyst’s negative report on the company before the stock started trading. Facebook stock has since dropped 18 percent.

May 23, 2012 4 Stories
10 Things to Know for Tuesday
3. JOPLIN, MO., MARKS ANNIVERSARY OF TORNADO THAT KILLED 161
Obama’s speech praising residents for their “bigness of spirit” precedes events today that include a community walk through the path of the twister and a moment of silence at 6:41 p.m., the precise time it hit.

May 22, 2012 3 Stories
What the dog said
May 19, 2012
10 Things to Know for Wednesday
1. NATION’S NUCLEAR REGULATORS SCALE BACK EMERGENCY READINESS
An overhaul of emergency planning near U.S. reactors requires fewer exercises for accidents and recommends fewer people be evacuated right away.

May 16, 2012 3 Stories
Poll: Half of Americans call Facebook a fad
Half of Americans think Facebook is a passing fad, according to the results of a new Associated Press-CNBC poll. And, in the run-up to the social network’s initial public offering of stock, half of Americans also say the social network’s expected asking price is too high.

May 15, 2012 2 Photos
Study: Phone co customer satisfaction evens out
Improvements in customer satisfaction at Sprint Nextel Corp. and AT&T Inc. have narrowed differences among the Big 4 wireless carriers to the point that they’re basically even in terms of pleasing their subscribers, according to a study released Tuesday.

May 15, 2012
10 Things to Know for Tuesday
1. U.S. ADOPTS STRATEGY FOR FIGHTING ALZHEIMER’S
The Obama administration today sets a 2025 deadline to find effective treatments and perhaps even a way to prevent the mind-destroying disease that afflicts 5.4 million Americans.

May 15, 2012
At the movies
Showing at McAlester's Cinema 69 Movie Theatre, according to www.mcalestercinema.readyhosting.com: "The Avengers," "The Pirates: Band of Misfits," "The Raven" and more.

May 9, 2012 3 Photos 1 Story
10 Things to Know for Wednesday
4. North Carolina voters approve amendment that slams door shut on gay marriage
More than 60 percent of voters approve the measure defining marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman.

May 9, 2012 4 Stories
More Features Headlines

A recent study of southern tornadoes has found that storm shelters did not protect them. Where do you take shelter when tornadoes threaten?

Features

Search Results

Related Photos

Fight diseases with some wholesome fresh produce

A recent study of southern tornadoes has found that storm shelters did not protect them. Where do you take shelter when tornadoes threaten?

Site Map

Contact Us