Lettuce talk about our fresh fruit & vegetable program!
Vulnerable people often struggle with a variety of mental and physical health issues that are rooted in the challenges of being able to secure adequate nutritional diets.
A new study identified top 10 raw foods related to better mental and physical health: carrots, bananas, apples, dark leafy greens such as spinach, grapefruit, lettuce, citrus fruits, fresh berries, cucumber, and kiwifruit.
Each month, Cecine, one of our Community Living Support Workers, organizes the low-cost fresh fruit and vegetable distribution at The Kettle Society. This important program provides clients and staff with two large totes of produce for $10.
So what exactly do some of these fruits and vegetables contribute? Take a look below!
Carrots
Carrots get their orange color from the nutrient beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant. Studies have shown that people with higher levels of antioxidant carotenoids were less likely to have symptoms of depression. Carotenoids occur naturally in bright red, yellow, and orange pigments in fruits and vegetables. Pumpkin, cantaloupe, broccoli, cantaloupe, collards, peaches, spinach, and sweet potatoes also contain beta-carotene.
Bananas
While bananas contain serotonin, having one for a snack won’t immediately lift your spirits. Unlike other forms, the serotonin found in bananas doesn’t cross the blood-brain barrier, which means it can’t get into the brain to supplement the serotonin that's naturally produced by the body.
However, research indicates that bananas may play a more indirect role by shoring up the amount of serotonin the brain is able to produce. The body needs other nutrients to properly make and use serotonin, and bananas are an especially rich source of some of these vitamins.
Apples
Several studies have linked eating apples to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
In one large study, eating an apple a day was linked to a 28% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, compared to not eating any apples. Even eating just a few apples per week had a similarly protective effect.
It’s possible that the polyphenols in apples help prevent tissue damage to beta cells in your pancreas. Beta cells produce insulin in your body and are often damaged in people with type 2 diabetes.
Spinach
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that floats around our brain and helps us feel happy. The tryptophan found in spinach helps increase our levels of serotonin, so we can turn that frown upside down. Spinach is also high in folate, another nutrient that helps increase levels of serotonin in the brain.
Want to sign up for our fresh fruit and vegetable? Email Cecine, at clam@thekettle.ca