Sort by:
Subscribe:

Top 11 Summer Fruits and Veggies For Your Well-Being

top 11 summer fruits and vegetables for health lifestyleSummer heat waves and the prospect of more time outdoors motivates Americans to reevaluate their dietary choices and improve their eating habits. A focus on health and well-being makes women’s fitness in particular a staple of the blistering mid-year months. Take control of your health with some fruits and veggies that will complement the effort you are making at the fun fitness class you are attending. Read on for 11 of the top choices to help gear up your fitness game.

Top 11 Super Fruits & Veggies To Keep You Healthy & Beautiful

Strawberries: Strawberries are more than another boring member of the berry family. These tasty fruits contain a compound that can help keep your skin healthy by blocking UV rays. Additionally, strawberries work hard at preserving collagen that keeps your skin young, according to one study. Next time you have the urge for sugar, reach for a strawberry, a great low-calorie dessert, to help keep your waistline trim while still giving your sweet tooth a hug.

Sugar snap peas: Top off summer salads with some garden peas and snowpeas mixed together to give your body a needed boost of B-vitamins, giving your metabolism a jolt.

Hot peppers: If you like your meals to match the scorching air temps, you might have a leg up on summer fitness. Hot peppers of all varieties boast Vitamin C, B, and carotenolds. If you’re in the middle of your new cutting-edge workout, the Vitamin C blast will help your body absorb iron, improve energy and your immunity. Bonus tip: While all colors have commendable benefits, red peppers contain the most Vitamin C.

Corn: Bet you didn’t expect to see good ‘ole corn on a list of healthy veggies. Many consider corn one of the “bad” veggies, full of starch and carbs. However, if you’re active and implementing an exercise routine, complex carbs are your friend. In addition, some of those carbs come from a healthy amount of fiber, a nutrient lacking in the diets of many Americans. Corn also contains a dose of B vitamins and folate to help support heart health and antioxidants. You might want to take it easy on the butter, but corn can still be a  fun part of your summer diet.

Cucumbers: Are they a fruit? Are they a veggie? Do you really care if they’re good for you? By the way, yes, they are a fruit. Cucumbers are full of water, so eating them will help you stay hydrated as you sweat out toxins in your group exercise classes. They also contain a aphytonutrient caffeic acid that combats swelling and inflammation – great for combating puffy eyes and water retention. Don’t forget to toss them in to your next salad for additional crunch and nutrients.

Tomatoes: Another famous fruit that’s often mistaken for a veggie, tomatoes offer versatility of preparation. You can cook them, dice them on your salad, top a healthy sandwich with them. You can even blend tomatoes into a delicious healthy smoothie. Take a look at all the nutrients in every bite: Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, beta-carotene, potassium, lycopene and fiber. Tomatoes are essential for women’s diet because they help fight heart disease – a prominent killer of women; and with abundance of Vitamin K help preserve eyesite and promotes healthy hair growth.

Plums: You know the story with the fruits on this list — they are overflowing with antioxidants and Vitamin C. When cancer and heart disease kill so many, yet another tool to fight these deadly diseases makes these fruits quite the prize. Plus, they taste amazing. Try them lightly grilled on a salad.

Nectarines: Like a peach but smoother, nectarines boast one of the better resumes of popular fruits. With healthy amounts of Vitamin C and antioxidants, this fruit might very well be a key to fighting obesity and even diabetes. Some studies suggest that it also helps knock down that bad cholesterol.

Watermelon: Not only does this delicious fruit perfectly complement the feeling of summer, it also comes loaded with water to  help you stay hydrated in the midst of even the hottest of dog days. This will also help curb those cravings for the munchies that can throw a wrench into your diet. Bring a watermelon to your next picnic and eliminate your fears of sabotaging your waistline.

Oranges: A good blast of citrus goodness helps make a beach workout a summer treat. Sweating takes out toxins from your body, but you also lose much-needed potassium. Oranges are a good way to replenish lost potassium and to make sure that your muscles don’t decide to cramp out in the middle of your workout. They also make a tasty garnish and flavor enhancer to almost anything. Try them in dressings, marinades, or as a syrup on top of an occasional summer dessert splurge.

Pomegranates: This super-fruit might well prove one of the most difficult to enjoy. You don’t bite into a pomegranate like you do an apple. You must work hard to take out get those seeds, which can be messy. But you’ll reap great rewards with a nutritious snack that contains vitamins from several letters of the alphabet not often seen in foods, such as Vitamin E and K in addition to more well-known B and C. Once you try a cup of pomegranate seeds, you might find yourself hooked for life.

Don’t stop here.

You can you add many other fruits and veggies to your summer diet plan. The possibilities are endless, find what you like best and get creative with recipes. You don’t have to eat fruits and veggies by themselves. You can bake and grill some to bring out and enhance flavors. Fruits make a wonderful garnish on cereals and yogurt; and veggies on whole grain pastas. Fruits can also add a burst of flavor to dressings, smoothies and refreshing summer lemonades.

Once you make fruits and vegetables a part of your regular diet, you will notice a considerable difference in your mood, energy levels, and sleep quality. Health requires wholesome food that makes you want to keep coming back for more and that provides the energy you need to stick to your workout plans. There’s a whole garden of fruits and veggies at your disposal to make a tasty path to better health.

Sharing is caring!

Comments

comments