Diet rich in vegetables and fruits can lower the risk of Alzheimer disease

Both fruit and vegetable contain a wide variety of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, plant chemicals, that help to keep blood vessels in good working order and improve human body overall health.

Several thousand polyphenols have been identified on edible plants and have antioxidants properties as well as probable role in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease with associate growth oxidative damage. Most polyphenols exist primarily in the outer sections of fruits and vegetables.

Alzheimer’s disease slowly destroys memory and thinking cells and eventually the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. When an Alzheimer’s disease brain is examined under the microscope, two defining neuropathological features of Alzheimer’s disease are observed:
*Extracellular β-amyloid plaques
*Intracellular neurofibrillary tangles

Scientists believed that polyphenols in vegetables, seem to have a protective effect on the brain, decrease the possibility of dementia and prohibit the development Alzheimer’s disease.

Polyphenols can be grouped in four categories: Phenolic acids, Flavonoids, Lignans, Stilbenes. Flavonoids then can be divided to two categories: anthocyanins and anthoxanthins.

A most vital chemical property of polyphenols is their antioxidant activity which their capability to prevent oxidative damage within cells by blocking the activity of free radicals. Polyphenols are able to modulate the expression of genes to increase antioxidant defense. Polyphenols also protect and repair DNA damage.
Diet rich in vegetables and fruits can lower the risk of Alzheimer disease 

Nutritional benefits of fruit and vegetable to children

Healthy diets in childhood are important as they shape food preferences and eating habits in later life and protect against early manifestations of nutrition related diseases.

Fruits and vegetables provide essential vitamins, minerals, fiber and disease-preventing phytochemicals. When children do not eat enough fruits and vegetables they run the risk of having low intakes of vitamins A and C.

B complex vitamins: thiamin, niacin, riboflavin and other B vitamin, come from a variety of foods, including grain products, meat and meat substitutes and dairy products.

The healthful benefits of fruits and vegetables, including protection against overweight and decreased risk of chronic disease, make increasing fruits and vegetables consumption in children an important public health issue.

Evidence from the Bogalusa Heart Study, tracking early risk of heart disease among American children, suggest that eating habits in childhood have a potential lifelong effect on cholesterol level and on adult coronary heart disease.

Vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients help create the neurotransmitter that relay signals between these brain children who do not get adequate nutrition in their first few years of life are more likely to have problems throughout life.

A study of British school children found that children who ate fruit more than once per day had better lung function compared with those who did not.

Although five servings a day of fruits and vegetables is the standard recommendation, the more the children eat the better.
Nutritional benefits of fruit and vegetable to children

Contribution of Fruits to Human Nutrition

Contribution of Fruits to Human Nutrition
Fruits are not only colorful and flavorful components of our diet, but they also serve as a source of energy, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber.

The U.S department of Agriculture Dietary Guidelines encourage consumers to enjoy “five a day,” eat at least two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables each day and to choose fresh, frozen, dried or canned forms of a variety of colors and kinds of fruits and vegetables.

In some countries, consumers are encouraged to eat up to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

ENERGY (Calories)

• Carbohydrates: banana, breadfruit, jackfruit, plantain, dates, prunes, raisin

• Proteins and amino acids: nuts, dried apricot, fig

• Fats: avocado, olive, nuts

VITAMINS
Fresh fruits and vegetables contribute about 91% of vitamin C, 48% of vitamin A, 27% of vitamin B6, 17% if thiamin and 15% of niacin to the U.S diet.

• Vitamin A: apricot, peach, cherry, orange, mango, papaya, persimmon, pineapple, cantaloupe, watermelon

• Vitamin C: strawberry, orange, grapefruit, kiwifruit, pineapple, banana apple, cantaloupe

• Niacin: peach, banana, orange, apricot

• Riboflavin: banana, [peach, orange, apple, avocado

• Thiamin: orange, banana, grapefruit, apple

MINERALS
Fresh fruits and vegetables contribute about 26% of the magnesium and 19% of the iron to the U.S diet
The following fruits are important contributors to the supply of indicated minerals in the U.S diet

• Potassium: banana, peach, orange, apple, dried fruits such as apricot and prune

• Phosphorus: banana, orange, peach, fig, raisin

• Calcium: tangerine, grapefruit, orange

• Iron: strawberry, banana, apple, orange

DIETARY FIBER

• All fruits and nuts contribute to dietary fiber. Dietary fiber consists of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and pectic substances, which are derived primarily form fruit cell walls and skin.

• The dietary fiber content of fruits ranges from 0.5 to 1.5% (fresh weight)

• Dietary fiber plays an important role in relieving constipation by increasing water holding capacity of feces. Its consumption is also linked to decreased incidence of cardiovascular disease, diverticulosis, and colon cancer.

ANTIOXIDANTS
Fruits, nuts, and vegetables in the daily diet have been strongly associated with reduced risk for some forms of cancer, heart disease, stroke and other chronic disease. This is attributed, in part, to their content of antioxidant phytochemicals.

• Red, blue, and purple fruits (such as apple, blackberry, blueberry, blood orange, cranberry, grape, nectarine, peach, plum, prune, pomegranate, raspberry, and strawberry) are good sources of flavonoids and other phenolic compounds that are positively correlated with antioxidant capacity of the fruit.

• Orange-flesh fruits (such as apricot, cantaloupe, mango, nectarine, orange, papaya, peach, persimmon and pineapple) and some red flesh fruits (such as tomato, watermelon and pink grapefruit) are good sources of carotenoids. Availability of lycopene to human is increased during tomato processing.

Contribution of Fruits to Human Nutrition