How 16 fruits boost your health

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, the saying goes. While that’s not literally true, there’s no doubt that eating apples and other fruits provides a wide range of health benefits, says Lisa Garcia, a registered dietitian based in Laconia, New Hampshire. If you’re looking for a nutritious complement to a meal or a healthy snack, you can’t go wrong with fresh fruit.

All kinds of colors, and a multitude of health benefits

Eating a wide array of fruits will provide you with a host of nutrients and vitamins that can boost your health. A study or a good marketing campaign may bring attention to one particular fruit, Garcia says, but this “can obscure the real message: Fruits contain many beneficial nutrients, including fiber, vitamin C and potassium.”

Some fruits have phytonutrients, substances found in plant foods that may help ward off disease and keep your body functioning well. The government’s 2015-2020 dietary guidelines for Americans recommend that for a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, most people should eat about two daily cups of fruit, preferably whole fruit, Garcia says.

It’s important to vary the types and colors of fruits you eat. “I recommend that most people eat over the course of three days fruits that come from all colors in the rainbow, including white,” she says. “This way your body will be getting a broad range of nutrients. You’ll also be getting an enjoyable variety of tastes, colors and textures.”

Eating fruit is a healthier way to satisfy sweet cravings rather than consuming candy, cookies, cakes or similar items with added sugar, which can contribute to obesity and diabetes. Also, many fruits are high in fiber, which can help you avoid blood sugar spikes that can cause you to eat more. Click through the gallery for an array of fruits that are tasty and good for you.

Pears

Apples may get more publicity and the famous saying about keeping the doctor away, but pears are even better from a nutrition standpoint, Garcia says. Eating a medium-sized pear, which weighs about 6 ounces, provides you with about 30 percent more fiber than an apple of the same size. Much of the fiber in pears is soluble fiber. This type of fiber has several health benefits: It can make you feel fuller longer and help prevent blood sugar spikes, which is helpful if you're trying to lose weight, avoid gaining weight or manage diabetes. "Soluble fiber can also help you manage your cholesterol levels by helping to reduce the amount of cholesterol your body absorbs from the foods you eat," Garcia says. "To get the maximum benefit from the fruit, be sure to eat the skin if it's edible. You lose about half of the fiber if you peel the fruit." — **Pears** Apples may get more publicity and the famous saying about keeping the doctor away, but pears are even better from a nutrition standpoint, Garcia says. Eating a medium-sized pear, which weighs about 6 ounces, provides you with about 30 percent more fiber than an apple of the same size. Much of the fiber in pears is soluble fiber. This type of fiber has several health benefits: It can make you feel fuller longer and help prevent blood sugar spikes, which is helpful if you’re trying to lose weight, avoid gaining weight or manage diabetes. “Soluble fiber can also help you manage your cholesterol levels by helping to reduce the amount of cholesterol your body absorbs from the foods you eat,” Garcia says. “To get the maximum benefit from the fruit, be sure to eat the skin if it’s edible. You lose about half of the fiber if you peel the fruit.” (iStock/Getty Images Plus)

**Apricots** Apricots are high in vitamin C and are also a good source of phytochemicals (like beta carotene), which act as antioxidants, says Christina D’Angelo, a clinical registered dietitian at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, New Jersey. Antioxidants play a role in preventing chronic diseases by protecting healthy cells from damage caused by free radicals that might protect against diseases like cancer. Beta carotene gives apricots their rich yellow-orange color and converts to vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A plays a role in vision, skin integrity, immunity against infection, gene regulation and nerve development, D’Angelo says. “Add apricots to cereal, use them in smoothies or try dried apricots for an easy energy booster,” she says. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

Bananas This yellow-skinned fruit is high in potassium, a mineral that helps muscles contract and regulates fluids and mineral balance in and out of body cells, D’Angelo says. Eating bananas can also help maintain normal blood pressure. Bananas contain pectin, a type of fiber, which may improve blood sugar control and digestive health. The fruit’s not only good for digestion, it can help you mange your weight, because it’s a filling and satisfying on-the-go snack. “Try pairing bananas with a protein and fat, like peanut butter or almonds, for an energizing snack,” D’Angelo says. “Additionally, bananas can be used for a pre- or post-workout fuel.” (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)

AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File

Cutting board — **Lemons** Consuming this tart fruit has lots of health benefits, says Betsy Opyt, a registered dietitian based in Naples, Florida. Lemons, of course, are high in vitamin C, which is not only great for your immune system, but your gut health, heart health, weight control and more, Opyt says. “Help your heart and watch your waist with the fiber in the rind of lemons by adding lemon zest (the outermost rinds of the fruit) to many of your foods,” she says. “This pectin (soluble fiber) helps keep you full and eliminates cholesterol from the body. Lemons also help ward off painful kidney stones. By increasing urine volume and urine pH, the lemon helps create a perfect environment to prevent kidney stone formation.” Marinating lemons in your bottle of water is one way to reap this benefit. Lemons are also good for preventing anemia. Though they contain little iron, which your body uses to produce blood cells, lemons do help iron absorb in the gut. “So, creating a marinade for your meats with a little lemon juice will help you pump up your blood by supporting iron absorption,” Opyt says. There are plenty of ways to consume lemon: make spa water with lemon, mint and cucumber; zest lemon rind over a salad, meats or fish; add it to baked goods; use lemon in salad dressings or marinades; or freeze lemon and water in an ice cube tray for beautiful ice that melts into a vitamin C-rich refresher, Opyt recommends. (Thinkstock)

**Peaches** Sweet and juicy peaches are a popular summer fruit and are also packed with nutrition, says Lise Gloede, a registered dietitian based in Arlington, Virginia. “Peaches are loaded with vitamin C, which helps fight free radicals and keeps your body’s defense systems working up to speed,” Gloede says. Peaches have bioactive phenolic compounds that promote an anti-inflammatory response in your body. Their high fiber content, as part of a high-fiber diet, helps in lowering LDL cholesterol — known as bad cholesterol — and preventing cardiovascular disease, Gloede says: “With so many things promoting disease, it’s great to know one of summer’s favorite fruits can be enjoyed for its flavors and health-promoting properties.” (iStock/Getty Images Plus)

**Clementines** These bright orange fruits are tasty, portable and easy to peel and eat, Garcia says. They’re an excellent source of vitamin C, with one clementine — which is only about 35 calories — providing 48 percent of the recommended daily allowance for a nonsmoking woman and 40 percent for a nonsmoking man, Garcia says. Vitamin C is important in keeping our skin healthy and healing it, and it boosts our immune system. If you’re trying to eat more of a plant-based diet for health, ethical or environmental reasons, eating foods rich in vitamin C can help your body absorb more of the type of iron found in plant-based foods, she advises. (iStock /Getty Images Plus)

One of the nice things about the keto diet is it provides lots of ways to eat avocados, which besides being rich and tasty have lots of healthy monounsaturated fat. (AP Images) — **Avocados** “Is it a fruit, is it a fat, is it a vegetable? What is the avocado?” Opyt says. Well, technically it’s a fruit, but because of its green color and non-sweet flavor, some people mistake it for a vegetable. With its creamy texture, avocados are not only great to eat, but provide many health benefits. For example, an avocado provides 4 percent of the recommended dietary intake of potassium, the mineral that helps the heart muscle beat the way it should, assists in regulating blood pressure and boosts the contraction of muscles. Potassium helps maintain the body’s cells and reduces your risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney failure, Opyt says. It’s high in fat, but that’s not bad, since healthy monounsaturated fats are found in avocados. “Don’t let the creamy texture fool you — avocados are a rich source of fiber,” Opyt says. “The soluble and insoluble balance of fiber is the perfect amount and together provides 7 grams of fiber in a 3.5-ounce serving. That’s 27 percent of your recommended daily allowance of fiber.” Avocados boost your gut-friendly bacteria and make you feel full, which helps maintain a healthy weight and avoid obesity. You can eat avocados in myriad ways: sliced atop a salad or inside a sandwich or mixed with cacao and honey to blend into chocolate pudding. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead, File)

**Nectarines** Nectarines are a bright orange fruit that look similar to peaches; while the skin of peaches is fuzzy, the skin of nectarines is smooth. Nectarines are high in vitamin C and vitamin E, which can act as antioxidants, fighting free radicals that could damage your cells. Nectarines are also high in lutein, which is an antioxidant that can decrease the risk of cataracts and lower the risk of age-related macular degeneration. “These wonderful fruits also contain copper and potassium, which are helpful for [maintaining a healthy] blood pressure and keeping mineral balance in your body,” Gloede says. (iStock/Getty Images Plus)

This Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014 photo, provided by Ardent Craft Ales, shows a handful of persimmons harvested at Bellair Farm in Charlottesville, Va., Ardent Craft Ales in Richmond, Va., is tapping into the Virginia Historical Society's collections to serve up a 300-year-old beer made with persimmons from a cookbook from the 1700s. The beer recipe is one of several in the society's collection that provide a glimpse into what Virginians and others were drinking in the 18th century. (AP Photo/Ardent Craft Ales) — **Persimmons** Though they roughly resemble tomatoes, persimmons are much sweeter. They have high amounts of vitamin A, D’Angelo says. There are two popular types of persimmon, the Fuyu and the Hachiya; the latter type is shaped like an acorn and needs to be fully ripe and soft before it becomes sweet and full of taste. A good way to determine if a persimmon is ripe is if the leaf detaches from the fruit easily when pulled off. “Once cut open, the middle can be eaten like pudding,” D’Angelo says. “The Fuyu persimmon can be eaten when still firm and is more like an apple: crisp, sweet and crunchy.” Persimmons could also be part of a high-fiber diet; one raw piece of the fruit contains about 6 grams of fiber, which is about 20 percent of the daily recommended fiber intake. (AP Photo/Ardent Craft Ales)

In case you need more reasons to serve up this sweet and juicy summertime favorite at your next BBQ, here are 10 surprising facts about watermelon. (Getty Images) — **Watermelon** A juicy slice of watermelon can hit the spot on a hot day. It’s also a good source of lycopene, a phytonutrient and antioxidant that research suggests could be helpful in protecting against chronic conditions such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease and cancer, says Anna Taylor, a registered dietitian with the Cleveland Clinic. Several studies suggest that eating watermelon helps support a healthy blood pressure level, she says. For example, research published in 2014 in the American Journal of Hypertension suggests that eating watermelon may protect against the elevated blood pressure that occurs when the body adjusts to colder environments. (Thinkstock)

Blueberries This tiny fruit is a nutritional powerhouse, especially for cancer prevention, says Kailey Proctor, an oncology dietitian with the Center for Cancer Prevention and Treatment at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, California. “Blueberries have been shown to prevent pro-inflammatory molecules from forming in the body,” Proctor says. “Consuming blueberries also reduces oxidative stress, which helps protect our DNA from damage by preventing cancer cell growth. All of this is because blueberries are high in the antioxidant anthocyanin. Not only are they high in cancer-fighting antioxidants, they pack in 4 grams of fiber per cup.” High-fiber diets have been associated with lower rates of colorectal cancer. “Strawberries, raspberries and cranberries provide similar benefits,” Proctor says. (iStock/Thinkstock)

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**Blackberries** These dark berries are high in polyphenols as well as vitamins C and K, folate, manganese, flavonoids and fiber. “The health benefits of blackberries include improved brain function and reduced inflammation,” says Julie Canseco, a New Orleans-based registered dietitian with Main Squeeze Juice Company. Blackberries also promote healthy skin, she says. “Above all, the most well-known benefit of the blackberry is its protective effects against cancer,” Canseco says. The berries may also have neuroprotective properties against age-related diseases, adds Jennifer Papastephanou, a registered dietitian in the Baltimore area. (Thinkstock)

**Cherries** Cherries are relatively low in calories and loaded with significant amounts of important nutrients, including fiber, vitamin C, carotenoids and potassium, says Reema Kanda, a registered dietitian with Hoag Orthopedic Institute in Irvine, California. Research suggests eating cherries can help reduce inflammation, aiding post-workout muscle recovery, and can boost heart health while helping to ward off symptoms of arthritis. And there’s evidence that Bing sweet cherries, one variety of the fruit, contain anti-inflammatory properties that may relieve joint pain and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Both sweet and tart cherries have anti-inflammation properties that could help reduce joint pain, Kanda says. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

Apples The jury’s still out on whether eating an apple a day will keep the doctor away, but research suggests eating the fruit may decrease the risk for stroke, Taylor says. One study suggests that eating apples correlates with a decreased risk for thrombotic stroke. Research also suggests that consuming fruits and vegetables with white flesh — like apples and pears — is associated with a lower risk for stroke. To get the full benefit of the fruit, eat the entire apple, including the peel, Taylor says. Apple peels are a rich source of fiber and antioxidants. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

AP Photo/Steven Senne, File

Oranges Can eating an orange a day keep the ophthalmologist at bay? A new study found that people who regularly eat oranges are much less likely to suffer macular degeneration than people who don’t eat the citrus fruit. Researchers interviewed more than 2,000 Australian adults age 50 and older over a span of 15 years. Study participants who ate at least one daily serving of oranges reduced their risk of developing late macular degeneration by more than 60 percent, according to the research, which was published in July 2018 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study’s findings suggest that the flavonoids (plant chemicals) found in oranges and in most fruits helped protect the orange-eaters’ macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of vision loss for people age 50 and older, according to the National Eye Institute. “It’s exciting to see research that highlights that eating something as common as an orange each day may help prevent a very common cause of vision loss as we age,” Garcia says. (iStock/Thinkstock)

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