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Food Group: Fruits

1. Fruit Foods
2. Daily Requirements
3. Health Benefits
4. Nutrition

Fruit Foods

This group consists of fresh fruits, fruit juices and dried fruits.
Apple, Apricots, Banana, Cheekooo, Cherries, Cantaloupe, Gooseberries, Grapefruit, Grapes, Guava, Jackfruit, Lemons, Limes, Lychee, Mangoes, Nectarines, Oranges, Peaches, Pears, Papaya, Pineapple, Plums, Pomegranates, Raspberries, Sweet lime (Mosambi), Tangerines, Tamarind, Watermelon, Prunes, Raisins, Dates.
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Daily Requirements

Limit Fruit Juice intake to a maximum of half of the daily requirement. Fruit juice contains little or no fiber.

One Cup equivalence:

One cup (8oz) filled with sliced fresh or frozen fruit
One cup 100% fruit juice
½ Cup dried fruit

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Health Benefits

1. Vegetables & Fruits, may reduce risk of stroke, cardio vascular, and coronary heart diseases.
2. Vegetables & Fruits, may reduce risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
3. Vegetables & Fruits may protect against some cancers such as mouth, stomach, and colon-rectum cancer.
4. Vegetables & Fruits rich in Potassium may reduce the risk of kidney stones and help decrease bone loss.
5. Vegetables & Fruits are nutrient dense at low calorie intake to manage weight.
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Nutrition

Fruits are low in fat, sodium and calories. Fruits do not contain cholesterol. They are a good source of Potassium, Dietary fiber, Calcium and folate.
Potassium helps maintain healthy blood pressure. Major fruit sources are bananas, prunes and prune juice, dried peaches and apricots, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and orange juice.
Dietary fiber helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower risk of heart disease. Fiber is important for proper bowel function. It helps reduce constipation and diverticulosis. The fruit juices contain little or no fiber.
Vitamin C helps growth and repair of all body tissues, helps heal cuts and wounds, and keeps teeth and gums healthy. Vitamin C also helps absorbs non-Heme iron.
Folate (folic acid) helps to form red blood cells. Folic acid reduces the risk of neural tube defects, spina bifida, and anencephaly during first 30 days fetal development. Women should consume adequate folate during the first trimester of pregnancy.
Always sanitize your vegetables .

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