Tips About Food
Nutrition From Your Garden
Have you ever wondered what nutrients are in your garden, local farmers market, and produce section? Read on for more information about some of the benefits in veggies and fruit grown locally.
Proper
nutrition can help…
Enhance your energy & stamina
Manage a healthy weight
Improve your athletic performance
Prevent cancer, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, eye damage etc!
Eating more vegetables & fruit will enhance your intake of…
1. FIBRE
Fibre promotes good digestive health but also lowers cholesterol, stabilizes
blood sugar, protects against diabetes, and can help you keep full to manage a
healthy weight.
2. VITAMINS & MINERALS
Fresh veggies and fruit contain more vitamins and minerals per calorie than any
other food group!
3. PHYTOCHEMICALS
Phytochemicals are protective compounds in plant-based foods that have health
promoting and disease preventative effects.
There are hundreds of phytochemicals – eat a variety of plant based foods
since you can’t get a good variety from supplements.
Gimme 5! (fruit and veggie servings per day at least!)
Choose 5-10
vegetable and fruit servings per day.
One serving of vegetables or fruit is equal to…
1 medium sized fruit (such as an apple or pear)
½ cup chunky veggies (such as raw carrots or steamed peas)
½ cup fruit (such as strawberries)
1 cup leafy greens (such as spinach, lettuce, or chard)
2 tbsp. dried fruit (such as raisins)
½ cup juice (such as orange juice)
Nutrients in Your Garden
Root
Vegetables (carrots, potatoes, beets, sweet potatoes, yams, turnips,
parsnips etc.)
• Potassium, fibre, vitamin C, carbohydrates
• Orange, yellow, and red roots have high concentrations of beta carotene
and other antioxidants associated with a decrease in cancer and heart disease.
Allium vegetables (onion, garlic)
• Organosulfur compounds (allylic sulfides) inhibit blood clotting, reduce
blood cholesterol levels, and lower the risk of some cancers.
• Vitamin C, potassium, and trace minerals.
Cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, radishes,
turnips etc.)
• Carotenoids - cancer preventative compound found in deep green and red
varieties
• Vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, vitamin K, fibre
• Indoles - lower cholesterol levels and protect against cancer –
especially breast cancer
Squash (zucchini, yellow/acorn/spaghetti/butternut, pumpkin)
• Deep yellow and orange varieties like pumpkin, butternut, and acorn
squash are rich in carotenoids.
• Potassium, B-vitamins, vitamin C, folic acid, fibre, and carbohydrates.
Peppers (sweet bell peppers and hot peppers)
• Vitamin C, minerals, fibre
• Red and green peppers contain carotenoids
• Hot peppers contain capsaicin – lowers cholesterol etc.
• In general the riper (redder) varieties are higher in nutrients than the
unripe (greener) varieties.
Greens
(Romaine Lettuce, leaf lettuce, spinach, kale, arugula, dandelion greens etc.)
• The deeper the green the better nutrient density!
• Beta-carotene, fibre, calcium, iron, vitamin C, vitamin K
• Folic acid – reduces the risk of heart disease and neural tube
birth defects
• Spinach is high in lutein – slows macular degeneration of the eye
Fruits (tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, saskatoons etc.)
• Tomatoes and tomato based products (bruschetta, salsa, canned stewed
tomatoes, tomato sauce) contain lycopene which reduces the risk of prostate,
lung, stomach, breast and colon cancer.
• Berries are especially high in phytochemicals including cancer
preventative carotenoids and are some of the highest fibre fruits around.
Soluble fibre in berries help to reduce cholesterol.