Watermelon nutrition facts

Want to quench thirst and re-boost your body with anti-oxidants lycopene and vitamin-A? Watermelon has everything you need to beat the scorching summer heat. Wonderfully delicious, thirst-quenching melons are the great source of much needed water and electrolytes to beat the tropical summer temperatures.

Botanically, the fruit belongs to the family of cucurbitaceae of the genus: citrullus, and is related to the other plants such as cantaloupe, squash, and pumpkin that grow as vines on the ground. It is widely grown across many tropical countries where it is one of the major commercial crops.

Botanical name: Citrullus lanatus.

Watermelon was originated from southern African countries and from where it spread to all over the tropical and subtropical regions. The plant bears many yellow colored flowers that may require honeybees for pollination.

The fruit has smooth, deep green or yellow colored thick exterior rind with light green or gray colored vertical stripes on the outer surface. Internally, the flesh is juicy, pink, red, or yellow in color with numerous small black seeds embedded in the middle third of the flesh.

Watermelon has neutral flavor and taste is somewhat sweet like light sugar syrup.

Different varieties of watermelon-fruits are cultivated world over, featuring variation in their size, shape, and color of the flesh (red, orange, and yellow in color).

Health benefits of watermelon

• Rich in electrolytes and water content, melons are nature’s gift to beat tropical summer thirst.
• Watermelons are very low in calories (just 30 cal per 100 g) and fats yet very rich source of numerous health promoting phyto-nutrients and anti-oxidants that are essential for optimum health.
• Watermelon is an excellent source of Vitamin-A, which is a powerful natural anti-oxidant. 100 g fresh fruit provides 569 mg or 19% of daily-required levels of this vitamin. It is essential for vision and immunity. Vitamin-A is also required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in vitamin-A is known to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.
• It is also rich in anti-oxidant flavonoids like lycopene, beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin and cryptoxanthin. These antioxidants are found to be protective against colon, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic cancers. Phyto-chemicals present in watermelon like Lycopene (4532 mcg/100 g) and carotenoids have the ability to help protect cells and other structures in the body from oxygen free radicals. Studies have also shown that lycopene protects skin damage from UV rays and from prostate cancer.
• Watermelon fruit is a good source of potassium; Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure; thus offers protection against stroke and coronary heart diseases.
• It also contains good amount of vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), thiamin (vitamin B-1), vitamin-C, and manganese. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen free radicals. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.

 Selection and storage

Although watermelons grown in all the seasons in tropical environments; yet they are at their best during summer months. In the stores, try to buy organically grown melons since they are richer in taste and nutrients.

Oftentimes, it is difficult to judge the ripeness and taste without checking the wedge section of the melon. Look for one that is heavy for its size with rind that is relatively smooth and neither overly shiny nor overly dull, without any cuts or bruises on the surface that might have occurred while transporting the fruit.

Once at home, place the fruit in cool, well-ventilated place. The cut sections, however, should be kept inside the refrigerator.

Preparation and serving method

Wash the whole melon-fruit in cold running water; one can also otherwise wash it with wet cloth to remove any surface dust and insecticide/fungicide residues.

Depending upon the size that you desire, the flesh can be sliced, cubed, or scooped into balls.

Here are some serving tips:

• Fresh watermelon should be eaten as it is, without any additions, to experience its delicious, natural taste.
• Cubes or sections of the melon are a great addition to fruit salad. Top wedges with ice cream!
• Jam, sorbet, fruit cocktail, and juice are some nutritious and delicious recipes you can make with melons.
• The seeds are roasted and eaten as a snack in some Asian countries.
• Its rind is used as vegetable in some South American countries.

Raspberry nutrition facts

Wonderfully delicious and rich red colored raspberry among the most popular berries grown all over the world. They are rich source of many health promoting plant-derived nutrients, minerals, and vitamins that are essential for optimum health.

Botanically, the plant is a small shrub belonging to the family Rosaceae, of the genus: Rubus. It grows very well in temperate regions. The exotic berry is native to Europe but now widely cultivated in many temperate regions all over the world. Main producers of raspberries are Poland, United States, Germany, and Chile.

Botanical name: Rubus idaeus.

Several subspecies of raspberries are grown but the most important modern commercial red raspberry cultivars derive from hybrids between R. idaeus (European raspberry) and R. strigosus (American raspberry). Raspberries have a taste that varies by cultivar, and ranges from quite sweet to acidic, a feature quite similar to strawberries.

Technically, the whole berry is an aggregate of small drupe-lets, which are arranged in circular fashion around a hollow central cavity. Each small drupelet features small juicy pulp with single tiny whitish-yellow seed.

Raspberry has conical shape, weighs about 3-4 g and contains 80-100 drupelets arranged in circular layers. While the most common type of raspberry (Rubus idaeus) is red-pink in color, hybrids actually comes in a range of colors including black, purple, orange, yellow and white.

  

Health benefits of raspberries

• Delicious raspberries are low in calories and saturated fats but are rich source of dietary fiber and anti-oxidants.100 g berries provide just 52 calories but contain 6.5 g of fiber.
• Raspberries have significantly high levels of phenolic flavonoid phytochemicals such as anthocyanins, ellagic acid (tannin), quercetin, gallic acid, cyanidins, pelargonidins, catechins, kaempferol and salicylic acid. Scientific studies show that these antioxidant compounds in these berries have potential health benefits against cancer, aging, inflammation, and neuro-degenerative diseases.
• Xylitol is a low-calorie sugar substitute extracted from raspberries. A teaspoonful of xylitol contains just 9.6 calories as compared to equivalent to that of sugar, which has 15 calories. Xylitol absorb more slowly in the intestines than sugar and does not contribute to high glycemic index, and thus, can be helpful in diabetics.
• Fresh raspberries are excellent source of vitamin-C, which is also a powerful natural anti-oxidant. 100 g berries provide 26.2 mg of vitamin C. Consumption of fruits rich in vitamin C helps body develop resistance against infectious agents, counter inflammation, and scavenge harmful free radicals.
• Raspberry contains anti-oxidant vitamins like vitamin A, and vitamin E. In addition to the above mentioned antioxidants, is also rich in many other health promoting flavonoid poly phenolic antioxidants such as lutein, zeaxanthin,and beta carotene in small amounts. Altogether, these compounds help act as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging and various disease process.
• Raspberry has an ORAC value (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) of about 4900 per 100 grams, crediting it among the top-ranked ORAC fruits.
• Raspberries contain good amount of minerals like potassium, manganese, copper, iron and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Copper is required in the production of red blood cells.
• They are rich in B-complex group of vitamins and vitamin K. Contain very good amounts of vitamin B-6, niacin, riboflavin, and folic acid. These vitamins are function as co-factors and help body in the metabolism of carbohydrates, protein and fats.

Selection and storage

Raspberries generally available year round in the stores, however, they are fresh and plentiful from June till October. In general, the berries are ready to be harvested when they comes off the receptacle easily and have turned to deep color (red, black, purple, or golden yellow, depending on the species and cultivar). At the stage when they are supposed to be the most ripen and sweetest.

In the store, select berries that feature shiny, deep red in color with attached green caps at the top end, firm, plump, free of sand and mold. Avoid those that appear dull, sunken or flattened and with mold, bruise or discolored patches.

Raspberries are easily perishable fruits; they should only be purchased a few days prior to use. Just before storing in the refrigerator, sort out damaged or bruised berries so that they should not spoil others. Place them in a wide bowl or spread them out on a plate covered with a paper towel, then cover with plastic wrap.

Raspberries will keep fresh in the refrigerator for one or two days. Use them as early as possible unless otherwise they are frozen and stored in the freezer compartment.

Preparation and serving methods

To wash Raspberries, dip them in cold water in a large bowl for few seconds and swish gently few times to remove any sand and insecticide residues. Gently pat dry using paper towel or cloth. This method will also help bring them to normal room temperature, and so also increases their flavor and enrich taste. Then remove the stems and caps, if any, by simply pinching off with fingers or using a paring knife.

Here are some serving tips:

• Fresh raspberry sections are a great addition to fruit or green salad.
• They can be a great snack between meals.
• Raspberry has also been used in fruit enriched pastries as in popular danish pastry.
• Raspberries are a popular addition to dairy products, as in strawberry flavored ice creams, milkshakes, smoothies, and yogurt.

Safety profile

Raspberry may cause serious allergic reactions in some sensitized individuals. Some of the most common symptoms include swelling and redness of mouth, lips and tongue, eczema, hives, skin rash, headache, runny nose, itchy eyes, wheezing, gastrointestinal disturbances, depression, hyperactivity and insomnia. Individuals who suspect allergy to these fruits may want to avoid.

When You Eat matters, Not Just What You Eat

When it comes to weight gain, when you eat might be at least as important as what you eat. That's the conclusion of a study reported in the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism published early online on May 17th.

When mice on a high-fat diet are restricted to eating for eight hours per day, they eat just as much as those who can eat around the clock, yet they are protected against obesity and other metabolic ills, the new study shows. The discovery suggests that the health consequences of a poor diet might result in part from a mismatch between our body clocks and our eating schedules.

"Every organ has a clock," said lead author of the study Satchidananda Panda of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. That means there are times that our livers, intestines, muscles, and other organs will work at peak efficiency and other times when they are—more or less—sleeping.

Those metabolic cycles are critical for processes from cholesterol breakdown to glucose production, and they should be primed to turn on when we eat and back off when we don't, or vice versa. When mice or people eat frequently throughout the day and night, it can throw off those normal metabolic cycles.

"When we eat randomly, those genes aren't on completely or off completely," Panda said. The principle is just like it is with sleep and waking, he explained. If we don't sleep well at night, we aren't completely awake during the day, and we work less efficiently as a consequence.

To find out whether restricted feeding alone—without a change in calorie intake—could prevent metabolic disease, Panda's team fed mice either a standard or high-fat diet with one of two types of food access: ad lib feeding or restricted access.

The time-restricted mice on a high-fat diet were protected from the adverse effects of a high-fat diet and showed improvements in their metabolic and physiological rhythms. They gained less weight and suffered less liver damage. The mice also had lower levels of inflammation, among other benefits.

Panda says there is reason to think our eating patterns have changed in recent years, as many people have greater access to food and reasons to stay up into the night, even if just to watch TV. And when people are awake, they tend to snack.

The findings suggest that restricted meal times might be an underappreciated lifestyle change to help people keep off the pounds. At the very least, the new evidence suggests that this is a factor in the obesity epidemic that should be given more careful consideration.

"The focus has been on what people eat," Panda said. "We don't collect data on when people eat."

Kiwi fruit nutrition facts

Kiwi fruit or Chinese gooseberry is one of the delicious fruits with full of promising health promoting phyto-chemicals, vitamins and minerals. This widely recognized, wonderfully unique fruit is native to eastern Chinese "Shaanxi" province. This exotic fruit is also recognized as China’s national fruit.

The kiwifruit plant is a semitropical, deciduous, large woody vine belonging to the family of Actinidiaceae; Genus, Actinidia.  Sceintific name: Actinidia chinensis.

The journey of this humble gooseberry from china mainland to Oceania and thence to worldwide was interesting!  During early years of twentieth century kiwifruit seeds were carried to New Zealand by missionaries where it has become naturalized. From New Zealand, the fruit spread all across the world, and now grown at commercial scale in many European and as far as in California regions in North America

During each season which lasts from September till November, The kiwi vine bears numerous ovals shaped, fuzzy, brown colored fruits.

Each fruit measures about the size of large hen’s egg and weighs up to 125 g. Internally; the flesh is soft, juicy, emerald green in color with rows of tiny, black, edible seeds. Fruit texture is similar to strawberry or sapodilla and the flavor resembles a blend of strawberry, apple and pineapple fruits.

Several other cultivars grown apart from the common kiwifruit variety. "Hardy kiwi fruit" (A.arguta) also known as baby kiwi, are much smaller than "Fuzzy kiwi fruit" (A. deliciosa). Their size is similar to that of a large grape with smooth, edible skin. Inside, "hardy kiwi fruit" resemble "fuzzy kiwi-fruit" in color, texture, but usually has intense flavor and sweetness. "Gold Kiwifruit", developed by hybrid technique by agricultural research department in New Zealand, has a smooth, less hairy, bronze skin, a pointed cap at one end and distinctive golden yellow flesh with less tart and more tropical flavor than green kiwifruit. Commercially, it has a higher market value than common green kiwifruit.

Health benefits of Kiwi fruit

• Kiwifruit is a very rich source of soluble dietary fiber (3.8 g per 100 g of fruit OR 10% of RDA), which makes it a good bulk laxative. The fiber content helps to protect the colon mucous membrane by decreasing exposure time to toxins as well as binding to cancer causing chemicals in the colon.
• The fruit is an excellent source of antioxidant vitamin-C; provides about 154% of the DRI (daily-recommended intake). Consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful free radicals.
• Kiwi fruit contains very good levels of vitamin-A, vitamin-E, vitamin-K and flavonoid anti-oxidants such as beta-carotene, lutein and xanthin. Vitamin K has potential role in the increase of bone mass by promoting osteotrophic activity in the bone. It also has established role in Alzheimer's disease patients by limiting neuronal damage in the brain.
• Research studies have shown that certain substances in kiwi-fruit functions as blood thinner similar to aspirin; helps to prevent clot formation inside the blood vessels and protects from stroke and heart attacks.
• Kiwi seeds are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. Research studies shows that consumption of foods rich in ω-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and help prevent development of ADHD, autism, and other developmental differences in children.
• Fresh kiwi fruit is a very rich source of heart healthy electrolyte "potassium". Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure by countering effects of sodium.
• It also contains good amounts of minerals like manganese, iron and magnesium. Manganese is used in the body as a co-factor for the powerful antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Magnesium is an important bone-strengthening mineral like calcium.

Selection and storage

Kiwifruit season starts by September and lasts until November. Though they are available throughout most of the year, they are at their best between august until December. Mature fruits harvested from the vine carefully; the unripe stuff appears hard, starchy, and closely resembles sapodilla (sapote) fruit.

Place raw kiwi-fruits in a plastic bag for 4-6 days to ripen. Keeping them in a paper bag with an apple, banana or pear will help to hasten ripening process.

In the sore, select kiwi-fruit with intact skin, without any blemishes or cuts. Ripe kiwis yield to pressure when pressed with the thumb gently. Once ripen, they have short shelf life if kept open at room temperature. So, keep them in the refrigerator.

Preparation and serving methods

Fresh, delicious, succulent kiwifruit can be eaten all alone. Wash under cold running water and gently peel the skin. Once cut, the slices should be eaten soon as they become soggy if left open in the air.

Here are some serving tips:

• Kiwifruits are so delicious that they can be eaten as they are without any additions. Enjoy their unique flavor.
• Serve sliced kiwi fruit and strawberries with yogurt, whose flavors are naturally complementary with each other.
• Mixture of sliced kiwi-fruit and pineapple together to make sauce, add it to marinate chicken breast and boil. The active compound, actinidin in kiwi fruit helps tenderizing meat products.
• The fruit is also used in the preparation of New Zealand’s popular dessert, Pavloa.
• It is also used in the preparation of muffins, cheesecake, pie, juice and jellies.

Pears nutrition facts

Mildly sweet and rich in flavor pears offer crunchiness of apples yet juicy as peach and nectarine. This simple fruit is widely popular, especially in the whole of northern hemisphere, for its unique nutrient qualities.

Botanically it is a pome fruit produced by the tree belonging to the family of Rosaceae; genus Pyrus, which also includes apple, loquat, medlar...etc and known scientifically as Pyrus communis.

Pears are broadly classified based upon their place of origin as Asian pears and European pears. Asian varieties feature crispy texture and firm consistency that do not change after harvesting or storage makes them ready-to-eat. Whereas, European types generally becomes soft and juicy when allowed to ripen.

 In structure, pear fruit has bell or “pyriform” shape; around 5-6 inches long and weigh about 200 gm. Fresh fruit is firm in consistency with mild ‘apple’ flavor.  Externally, its skin is very thin and depending upon the cultivar type, the fruit may have green, red-orange or yellow-orange colors.  Internally, it's off white color pulp is crunchy and juicy. However in fully matured ones, the pulp turns to grainy texture with gritty sensation while cutting with knife. Center of the fruit is more or less similar to apple with centrally located tiny inedible seeds.

1. Some of the popular Asian varieties are Ichiban Nashi, Shinsui, Shinsieki and Nijisseki.
2. Popular European types are Bartlett and Comice.

Health benefits of pears

• Pear fruit is packed with health benefiting nutrients such as dietary fiber, anti-oxidants, minerals and vitamins which are necessary for optimum health.
• Pears provide about 3.1 g of dietary fiber per 100g. Regular eating of pears may offer protection against colon cancer.  Most of the fiber is non soluble polysaccharide (NSP), making them a good bulk laxative. Also, the gritty fiber content binds to cancer causing toxins and chemicals in the colon, protecting its mucous membrane from contact with these compounds.
• In addition, pear fruit is one of the very low calorie fruits, just provides 58 cal per 100g. Just a few sections a day in the diet can bring significant reduction in weight and blood LDL cholesterol levels.
• It contains good quantities of vitamin C. Fresh fruits provide about 7% of RDA per 100 g.
• They are rich in antioxidant flavonoids phyto-nutrients such as beta carotene, lutein and zea-xanthins. These compounds along with vitamin C and A help body protect from harmful free radicals.
• The fruit is a good source of minerals such as copper, iron, potassium, manganese and magnesium as well as B-complex vitamins such as folates, riboflavin and pyridoxine (vitamin B-6).
• Although not well documented, pears are among the least allergenic of all fruits and are therefore recommended by health practitioners as safe alternative in the preparation of food products for allergy sufferers.
• Pears have suggested being useful in treating colitis, chronic gallbladder disorders, arthritis and gout.

Selection and Storage

Fresh pears are readily available in the stores.  While Bartlett variety is a predominant variety in summer, comice, seckel etc...are main fall season pears. Asian pears are generally ready to harvest by August and available in the stores by September.

Choose fresh, bright, firm textured fruits with rich flavor. Avoid fruits with pressure marks over their surface as they indicate underlying mottled pulp. Some fruits, especially the Asian varieties, have rust colored speckles on their outer surface which is otherwise an acceptable characteristic.

Keep unripe pears in a basket with separate chambers at room temperature or wrap in paper to ripen as in papaya. Once their surface yields to gentle pressure, they are ripe and ready to be eaten.

To get the maximum nutrient benefits eat them while they are fresh.  Otherwise, keep them in the refrigerator where they will remain fresh for a few days.

Fresh apples can be kept at room temperature for few days and stored in refrigerator for two to three weeks.

Preparation and Serving tips

Wash them in clean running cold water before use to remove any surface dust and pesticide/fungicide residues.

Cut slice both ends using paring knife and cut it into two equal halves. Take out centrally placed small seeds. Slice the fruit into desirable cubes or pieces.

As in apple, sliced fruit pieces turns brown on exposure to air due to conversion of iron from ferrous oxide to ferric oxide. If you have to serve them sliced, rinse slices in water added with few drops of fresh lemon.

Pears should be eaten as a whole with skin to get maximum benefits. Vitamins and minerals are greatly concentrated in significant quantities just underneath the skin.

Here are some serving tips:

• Eat pear fruits as they are without any additions to get maximum health benefits.
• Pear is also used in the preparation of fruit juice, jam, pie, and fruit salad.
• As juice mix with other fruits like pineapple, peaches, grapes...etc.
• In the preparations of baby food.