Sunday, September 6, 2009

Eating Healthy - Easy as ABC


Our bodies need a variety of vitamins and minerals to stay healthy! Fruits and vegetables contain essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber that may help protect you from chronic diseases. Compared with people who consume a diet with only small amounts of fruits and vegetables, those who eat more generous amounts as part of a healthful diet are likely to have reduced risk of chronic diseases, including stroke and perhaps other cardiovascular diseases, and even certain cancers.

Getting your proper level of vitamins is easier when you enjoy eating healthy foods! Here are just of few of the vitamins your body needs to stay healthy:

Vitamin A helps keep your skin healthy! It will also help keep your eyes healthy and able to adjust to dim light.

Its easy to get enough vitamin A eating dark green and deep yellow vegetables (such as broccoli, collards and other green leafy vegetables, carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and winter squash). Whole milk also has some vitamin A!

The B Vitamins: Thiamin ( Vitamin B1) helps body cells obtain energy from food and keep your nerves healthy. It also promotes a healthy appetite and digestion.
Food sources include: meat, poultry, fish, dried beans and peas.

Riboflavin (B2) Helps keep your eyes healthy and your vision clear. Vitamin B2 is most easily found in milk, liver, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and green leafy vegetables.

Niacin (B3) Maintains health of your skin, tongue, digestive tract, and nervous system. You get vitamin B3 from liver, meat, poultry, and fish, peanuts and peanut butter, dried beans and dried peas, and enriched and whole-grain breads and cereals

Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) Helps form cementing substances such as collagen that hold body cells together - strengthening your blood vessels and hastening healing of wounds and bones. Vitamin C also increases your resistance to infections. It helps your body absorb iron.

We get vitamin C from the following food sources:
cantaloupe, grapefruit, grapefruit juice, honeydew melon, kiwi fruit, mandarin orange sections, mango, orange juice, papaya, strawberries, tangerines, asparagus, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, sweet green and red peppers, and sweet potatoes.

Eating Healthy Foods is as easy as ABC. Get enough of the vitamins your body needs when you enjoy eating a variety of healthy foods!