Fruits-13 must-have affordable ones with fantastic benefits for your good health(contd.)

Part 2

Hello friends, welcome back to the second part of the fruits for health article. In my last article, I discussed six such fruits out of the 13 which I want to talk about, and now we will try to learn about seven more such fruits.

As you all know, all fruits are packed with a lot of nutrients and chemicals – phytonutrients and antioxidants-that protect our organs and different parts of the body.

So, let’s carry on- the next on the list is-

7. Sapota {Chikoo}-the gritty, sweet fruit

Sapota or Chikoo [as it is popularly known in India] is a fruit that I usually recommend to my deficient patients in Calcium. They are generally available throughout the year in India and are quite affordable. One of my patients who has a Chikoo farm near Mumbai brings me these fruits occasionally. Sometimes they are as large as a cricket ball.

Here are the nutritional facts about Chikoo-check it out. I am sure you will opt to purchase and eat more of this fruit whenever you visit your fruit market next time.

In India, especially in Mumbai, we get delicious ice cream made from the Chikoo pulp.

For more on the benefits of eating Chikoo, read this article on timesnownews.com.

8.Watermelon 🍉-the Summer Fruit

Watermelon starts appearing in the market in mid-February and remains throughout the summer. People who fast during Ramadan find it very useful as it –

• Quenches thirst after a long day fast
• It contains a lot of natural sugar, vitamins, and minerals.

For others, watermelon juice with some spices is a lovely alternative to artificially flavored cold drinks. Apart from that, did you know that watermelon and its seeds have many other benefits? The picture below will show you all the benefits of eating watermelon-

Now that you know what watermelon can give, you have your fill of the fruit and its juice. Having learned about the fruit, let’s try to understand what the seeds can provide us-see below-

9. Musk Melon 🍈-fruits with fantastic health benefit

Just like watermelons, musk melon is a summer fruit, albeit a bit costlier. They are also known as Cantaloupes. I have summarised the benefits of eating muskmelon below.

A fruit with so many benefits should be had as a dessert after meals as and when available.

10.Orange🍊and Lemons🍋- the tangy fruits

Oranges and lemons are considered winter fruits in India, and their availability ranges from October to mid-March. They are classified as a citrus group of fruits because they contain a lot of vitamin C. As you all know, due to the COVID-19 pandemic all over the world 🌎, doctors have recommended Vitamin C to boost immunity. In the picture below, I have provided the different benefits of eating these citrus fruits.

What better way to boost your immunity is there than eating an orange 🍊. There are many types of citrus fruits – you can click this link- thespruceeats.com -to know more about different oranges and lemons.

11. Pineapples 🍍the spiky fruit

Pineapples are very healthy and tasty fruits that have additional benefits of reducing your girth-i.e., the circumference of your tummy. It has an enzyme called Bromelain, which has the property to –

• Digest proteins –  so good to have it after a high protein content meal such as meat.
• Reduce inflammation,  particularly of joints( some anti-inflammatory drugs have them for, e.g., Tab. Zymogesic, the one I have discussed in the treatment of osteoarthritis)
• Contain antioxidants that help in reducing problems of the heart and other organs in our body.

Pineapples 🍍are hardy, gritty fruits. You have to know how to peel them properly. Here is a short video that shows how you can do it-

12. Papaya

Papaya is one such fruit that has multiple benefits. I will explain how the nutrients present in papaya briefly- have a look at this picture first.

How the nutrients in papaya fruit help us-

• Fibers-7%-these help relieve constipation.
• Also, an enzyme-papain, helps in digestion by breaking down protein molecules in our food, mostly from meats. That’s why raw green papaya is used to tenderize or marinate meat while making curry and make them digestible.
• Vitamin C and A levels are pretty high, which indicates that this fruit is good for our immunity and our vision and skin health.

13. Custard Apple

Sitaphal or custard apple is a fruit with blackish-brown seeds embedded in white or light yellow colored pulp. The pulp is the edible part, and each 100 gm is rich in-

• Calcium-30 mg                                Potassium-382 mg
• Magnesium -18 mg                         Phosphorus-21 mg
• Iron-0.71 mg                                    Sodium- 4 mg
• Water-71.5 gm

Here are the full nutrifacts about Custard-apple-

Custard-apple pulp is used in making ice cream in India. It has exquisite taste, and I am sure you will not stop at one scoop of the ice cream.

For more details on Custard apple, click this Link- healthifyme.com.

CONCLUSION

There are many more fruits out there in the fruit market like Strawberry, Rasberry, Figs, Dates, Apricots, Peach, Dragon-fruit, etc. Each fruit is unique in structure and content. In the future, I will come out with another article regarding the nutritional facts about these fruits.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the nutritional facts about these 13 must-have affordable fruits that have benefits to boost your health.

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Here is one interesting quote by Linford Christie on the importance of eating fruits-

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