Food Nutrition FactsWhy Food Nutrition Facts MatterWe need food nutrition facts to counter all the conflicting and confusing information and advice about what we should eat and how much. It's no longer about satisfying hunger but about what extra health benefits we can gain from our food choices. Can it heal an existing condition? Can it help us live longer and look younger? Can it give us more energy? Advertisers, research companies and food manufacturers are in a constant race to bring us the latest nutritional super foods, foods for the immune system, the best nutritional dietary supplement, anti aging supplement, immune system supplements and so forth. That is why it is important to make a habit of reading and keeping in touch with the latest research findings. Each nugget of information is just one part of a larger and continually evolving puzzle. No individual can know everything about a specific health concern or claim that a particular super supplement is The Answer to optimal health. Your health is too important to be left to someone else to take charge of. Having said that, starting from the basics - Food Nutrition Facts - is a good way to begin educating ourselves. This page focuses on fruits and vegetables and their role in nutrition. Which Should We Eat More: Fruits Or Vegetables?Did you know that vegetables have a significant role to play in nutrition and mental health? Researchers studied 3,700 Chicago seniors and found that those who ate at least 2.8 servings of veggies a day slowed their rate of cognitive decline by the equivalent of 5 years. Dark green leafy vegetables, which are rich in folic acid, had the strongest effect. As Dr. Mercola explains it, folic acid is necessary in the synthesis of many important components of the nervous system. If your diet is lacking in dark green leafy vegetables, particularly spinach, you will tend to have a higher risk of chronic degenerative medical diseases, including an increased risk of mental decline. Eating fruits on the other hand, did not have the same cognitive effect. So in weighing the role of fruit and vegetable in nutrition, the correct emphasis should be to eat more vegetables and fruits, which is different from our tendency to eat more fruits and vegetables. Vegetable Nutrition FactsWe hear a lot about the nutrition pyramid and the ideal number of fruit and vegetable servings we should consume a day. The latest dietary guidelines recommend between five and 13 servings a day for the average American. Tomato Nutrition Is the tomato a fruit or a vegetable? It depends on who you ask. The dictionary definition suggests that anything with seeds is a fruit. Technically, that makes the tomato a fruit. 
But when it comes to cooking, don't we class the tomato with the veggies?And just for fun, did you know there is a United States court case that legally defined the tomato as a vegetable? If the law is the last word, then there's your definition: the tomato is a vegetable. Regardless of the confusing definitions, did you know that the tomato is more nutritious when cooked, unlike other vegetables? The chemical that gives tomatoes their red color - lycopene - is believed to be responsible for lowering our risk of cancer, particularly cancers of the prostate, lung and stomach. Lycopene levels are higher in processed tomatoes like tomato puree, tomato sauce, ketchup and canned tomatoes, because the cooking process breaks down cell walls and releases and concentrates carotenoids (the group of organic pigments that lycopene belongs to). Vegetable Juicing for Health What happens if you don't fancy munching through a bowl of raw vegetables every day? How else can you still get your daily dose of vitamins? Try vegetable juicing as an alternative way of getting the goodness in veggies. Vegetable juicing is a great way for the body to receive its supply of the vitamins and micro-nutrients from vegetables, which can be destroyed by cooking and processing. This is why raw vegetables are better for you than cooked and processed vegetables. For maximum benefit to yourself and the environment, make sure your vegetables are fresh, organically grown and locally produced. More Great Juicing Benefits:
Fruit Nutrition FactsAll this talk about the importance of vegetables in a balanced diet does not mean fruits are less important. Whole fruits contain vitamins to boost the immune system and antioxidant benefits for optimal health. Banana Nutrition Facts 
The favorite food of athletes, diarrhea sufferers and people with high blood pressure, the banana is a low-calorie, low-fat, low-sodium fruit that contains high levels of potassium, vitamin B6 and vitamin C, and a decent amount of magnesium. For athletes, the banana provides an immediate and sustained boost of energy. For those suffering diarrhea, the banana helps to normalize bowel movement and replace what gets depleted, such as electrolytes. Another banana nutrition fact: the banana's high-potassium, low-sodium ratio makes it an excellent food for preventing high blood pressure. Pineapple Nutrition 
An indispensable ingredient in the Hawaiian pizza, the pineapple can be eaten raw or cooked. It is rich in vitamin C, has very little fat and sodium, and virtually no cholesterol. A 100g serving of pineapple is 86% water and 8% sugars. Pineapple contains enzymes that help reduce inflammation and promote healing of wounds from injury or surgery. When eaten during or between meals, the enzymes will be used to help digest the food we eat.Avocado Nutrition 
The avocado is a fruit, not a vegetable. It is one of the few fruits to contain fat. Fortunately, the fat is the monounsaturated ('good') kind, similar to the healthy fat found in olive oil. Like the banana, the avocado is dense and filling and provides sustained fuel and replenishing nutrients for athletes. The avocado's low-sodium, low-potassium content helps keep our bodies chemically balanced. For diabetics and hypoglycemics, the avocado is the perfect food because it is low-sugar and no-starch. Eating the avocado in small pieces throughout the day can help keep your sugar level in balance. Other avocado benefits: it is a good source of essential fatty acids and vitamin B6, and contains plenty of dietary fiber to prevent constipation. Why More Fruit May Not Be Better After all these glowing attributes, it may seem like you can't have too much fruit. However, did you know that fruits are also a source of fructose, a type of sugar that disrupts and damages human metabolism? High fructose consumption is a leading cause of fatty liver disease, obesity, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and high triglycerides. So be careful about the amount of fruits you consume daily, because they contribute to your fructose intake. And this is before factoring in fructose from other sources like juices and processed foods. The form of fructose added to processed foods like soda (the #1 source of calories in America) is a cheap form called High Fructose Corn Syrup. For optimal health, Dr. Mercola recommends that we keep our total fructose consumption to below 25g a day, and our fruit fructose limit to 15g a day. Chinese Food Nutrition FactsA home-cooked Chinese meal can be quite different from the sometimes oily, salty, MSG-laden noodles and meat dishes offered in Chinese restaurants and takeaways. Chinese cooking tends to use steaming (rice, fish, vegetables), soups and stir fries (vegetables, meat) as the main methods of cooking. When I was growing up, a typical home-cooked Chinese meal involved steamed rice, several dishes featuring eggs, tofu, fish, meat and vegetables, and perhaps a soup. At other times it might be fried rice or noodles.
According to the FAO website, rice is the predominant staple food of 34 countries all over the world, from Asia and the Pacific to North and South America and Africa. It provides 20% of the world's dietary energy supply, even more than wheat or maize. Rice is eaten in many different ways in many different countries and cultures. Steamed rice. Rice porridge. Rice noodles. Sushi. Risotto. Paella. Kueh tupat, the Malay steamed rice cake that you eat with satay. Rice is a good source of the B vitamins, and unmilled (or unpolished) brown rice contains more nutrients (more protein, more zinc, more iron, and way more insoluble fiber) than milled or polished white rice. This is because the fiber is contained in the bran layer of brown rice. Besides being a good source of energy, rice is low in saturated fats and trans fats (also called trans fatty acids), which are known to raise blood cholesterol levels. Rice is also gluten free, which enables people who are intolerant to the gluten found in wheat, barley and rye to enjoy rice without problems. People who need to watch their salt intake, such as people over 50 and people with high blood pressure or diabetes, will find rice a super food to include in a balanced diet as it has very low levels of sodium.
These are some of the ingredients I grew up eating when Grandma did all the cooking. Now that I have a family, I enjoy including these super food ingredients in the dishes I prepare. 
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