Health Benefits of Eating Your Fruits and Vegetables Daily
If there is something that bodybuilders don’t need to be reminded about, is the importance of proteins and carbohydrates. More often than not, we make our ideal meal plan and it is well calculated down to the details of how much calories each meal will provide. If its proteins, we make sure that we meet the minimum protein requirement for the day. Then after all that effort and hours of planning, we realize that we have left out two very important categories of foods. Fruits and vegetables. When I was a kid of cause I hated vegetables and I couldn’t wait to be a grown up if only to be able to refuse to eat vegetables. Well, now I’m a body builder, an athlete and of cause I know better.
The main source of antioxidants is in fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants in case you’ve never heard of them are simply chemicals that protect the muscle cells from damage caused by free radicals. They also help boost your immunity so if you find yourself coming down with a cold every other time, you need to increase your fruit and vegetable intake. For me nothing eases a cold better than a nice hot mug of lemon. Fruits and vegetables also boost your energy levels by a great deal.
They are a rich source of vitamin C also called ascorbic acid. This is an antioxidant and also helps in the metabolism of amino acids. It also helps in the absorption of iron. It is also used in the release of hormones such as testosterone. Vitamin E also is an antioxidant and is found in plenty especially in green leafy vegetables. Beta-carotene is found in tomatoes, peaches, sweet potatoes etc. if the vegetables are grown in soil that’s rich in selenium, and then the vegetables will also be rich in selenium.
Other than being rich in vitamins, they also add both bulk and fiber to your food. If you want lose weight and you still want to feel full when you eat, then you need to load you plate with fruits and vegetables. However, you have to know that there are a few fruits like avocados that have a lot of fat so you should go easy on them. There are also vegetables such as peas and potatoes that have high carbohydrate content and will therefore contain more calories. The fiber is important when it comes to easing your digestion and preventing indigestion.
Fruits have a lot of sugar depending on which type of fruit so taking fruit pudding right before you enter your bed or as a midnight snack will just simply be asking for trouble. In the morning when you need energy to take you throughout your day, you should consider having fruits for breakfast accompanied of cause with starch. Bananas make a great post workout fruit as it is rich in potassium. If your cutting down weight, then you need to watch the amount of fruit you eat, but if you want to gain weight, then you can indulge yourself with fruits.
