April showers bring May flowers. And with the rain comes rainbows – which are just beautiful. Another rainbow that is beautiful is a rainbow of nutritious and delicious food.
Canada’s Food Guide recommends that adults consume between 7 and 10 portions of fruits and vegetables every day. For many people this can present a challenge. Whether it is lack of time, money, or availability many people are not getting the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables daily needed to maintain good health.
Your fruit and vegetable choices should include the entire spectrum of colours. Dark green vegetables should be the predominant feature along with purples, oranges, reds, and yellows. A variety of fruit comes in dark crimson and blue and those nice dark colours are also an excellent source of antioxidants.
Berries for instance are a rich source of phytonutrients – naturally occurring compounds found in plants. There are literally hundreds of known phytonutrients, many of which have antioxidant properties that help protect our cells against free radical damage, improve immune function, and help reduce the risk for chronic disease. Berries are also abundant in vitamins, minerals, and fibre.
You don’t have to eat every single colour of the rainbow at each meal, but over the course of the day all colours should have found their way to your plate – or snack.
Not only do they taste great, both vegetables and fruit contain many important nutrients our body needs to maintain good health. Vegetables and fruit are also a very good source of fibre, which helps to keep us regular.
Here are just a few benefits of including more fruit and vegetables in your diet:
Lowered risk of heart disease and stroke
Help lower the risk of many cancers
Help lower blood pressure
Help lower cholesterol
Protect the immune system
Help with weight loss
Increase energy
Increase vitality
Fruit and vegetables do not have to be expensive and hard to prepare. Chop up some veggies and seal them in a Ziploc to have on hand as snacks. Carrot, celery, cucumber and sweet bell pepper sticks are favorites among adults and children alike. A big batch of fruit salad using oranges, grapefruit, pineapple, grapes and berries also makes a healthy snack we all love.
Although vegetable and fruit juice may count as a serving, vegetable juices can be high in sodium and fruit juice is high in sugar. It’s better to eat the whole fruit or vegetable than have the juice.
If you find it challenging to consume the recommended daily servings of vegetables, these AIM products can help. They are a fast and convenient way to supplement your fruit and vegetable intake and they don’t have all the sodium and sugar the commercial juices contain.
AIM BarleyLife® is a live, nutrient-dense juice powder of young barley plants providing a broad spectrum of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, phytochemicals, amino acids, and chlorophyll. BarleyLife helps to balance your pH, neutralize body acidity, and promote a healthy immune system. Available in powder and vegetarian capsules.
AIM BarleyLife® Xtrais a delightful, cherry-apple flavoured green barley juice powder with 18 different fruits and vegetables. Each 4.5 g serving of BarleyLife Xtra contains 4 g BarleyLife with only one gram of sugar per serving. BarleyLife Xtra is a great source of vitamin C and provides a healthy, nourishing alternative to the plethora of sugar-filled drinks available today. Children and adults alike enjoy this smooth, pleasant drink.
Just Carrots® has one of the highest sources of natural beta-carotene and provides up to 420 percent of the Reference Daily Intakes (RDI) of vitamin A. In addition to beta-carotene, Just Carrots contains calcium and potassium.
AIM RediBeets® is available in a ready to mix powder and provides a convenient way to enjoy the benefits beetroot has to offer without all the extra work and mess. RediBeets offers a convenient way to meet the daily requirements of 7 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables.
AIM LeafGreens™ is an all-natural dried juice concentrate that combines the leaves of four young plants and broccoli sprouts for a wide spectrum of nutrients including vitamins, minerals, antioxidant (beta-carotene), and a balanced plant-based protein. LeafGreens is an excellent source of vitamin A, iron, and vitamin K, and provides 30 mg of chlorophyll in every 3-gram serving.
AIM Veggie D™ features an all-natural, vegetable source of vitamin D2 from shiitake and button mushrooms. This whole-food delivery of vitamin D combines lycopene-rich tomatoes and twelve other vegetables for a savory whole food. Veggie D mixes well into soups, sauces, and other foods for added nutrition.
A diet rich in colourful fruits and vegetables can have a tremendous impact on our health and help prevent disease and health issues. An easy way to help select and track our daily intake is to remember that eating a rainbow a day keeps the doctor away!
“Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease.” ~ Hippocrates
For more information about any of these AIM products please visit our AIM Store Website where you can read more, download datasheets, watch videos, and make a purchase. As with any nutritional supplement it is always recommended to read the literature thoroughly to find out if the product is right for you, and consult your health care practitioner if you have any medical conditions or concerns.
*Shopping Cart With Fruits And Vegetables image courtesy of KROMKRATHOG/FreeDigitalPhotos.net