Healthiest Fruits to grow

#23 or 24 above says how ANDI is calculated.
I guess a site like http://nutritiondata.self.com/ or I am sure there are others can provide nutrient density by weight or other measures rather than by calorie

Crazy, it is a very nice post and the comments it draws are only a testament to that. I always have an opinion and usually canā€™t suppress it.

My opinion of what you are saying about Fuhmanā€™s recommendations is that the quantities may be exceeding the science- 2 pounds of vegies as a minimum! I will believe it if I see some very conclusive research. My unscientific hunch is 2 or 3 healthy servings a day are more than adequate. I also think that cooked greens and many other vegetables are more healthy than raw, or at least provide nutrients unavailable uncooked. Anyone that prefers raw butternut squash to cooked is a freak. Iā€™m not fond of raw kale salad either- how did that ever become a fad?

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I hate Kale any way cooked or raw. I always get it and then it goes to compost pile after a few weeks in the fridge. Every time I make green smoothies - family magically disappears! :grinning:

Nutrition increases with some foods when cooked - example Tomato/Lycopene. Reduces with some foods when cooked - Bell peppers/Vitamin C but we get plenty from raw fruits . Some have certain benefits when eaten raw and other benefits when eaten cooked - cruciferous veggiesā€¦ You gain some you lose someā€¦

Scientific or not, Iā€™ve tried to drown 2 pounds of veggies and its been impossible! 2 pounds of fruits, NP, piece of cake!

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same here. donā€™t mind a good salad or veg. on the side but ill never be close to a vegetarian!

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not a fruit but chia seeds are easy to add to foods and have lots of nutrients that veg do and even some they donā€™t. i sprinkle some on almost everything to make up for the veg. i didnā€™t eat. they donā€™t really have much flavor and are so small, you donā€™t even notice them.

goumi and autumn olive have 5x the lycopene of tomatoes and more omega 3ā€™s. :wink:

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do you grow shisandra berries? Iā€™ve heard its equal to ginseng in health benefits.

Also people who do not grow their own fruit are often less physically active, the more food plants a person grows the better the personā€™s health. These days all around the world we see a lot of people eating like their ancestors used to and they are not as healthy as they were, not as energetic as they were. In the past a lot more people did real exercise than they do now. A part of it is just not eating right. Many popular manufactured foods have little to no nutrients, if they give you energy then often itā€™s the type that helps to make you tired like caffeine and like manufactured sugars. Lots of people are staving themselves just enough to keep them alive which is dangerous because a malnourished person gets sick and ill easier. Like cancer for example, itā€™s very hard to avoid cancer, if the human body is malnourished enough even the weakest cancer can not be destroyed by their body. I think that is one of the reasons that cancer is becoming way more common, a body that is already weak has way less fight in it.

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The keys to longevity and vigor into old age, as I understand the research, are in this order. Inherited genes, exercise and diet.

Moose, one way I eat huge quantities of vegetables is by making really rich bone broth from the bones of whatever meats I eat- I pressure cook the bones for hours with a TBS of vinegar to help extract calcium. The broth is the base for stews I make with various beans, whole grains, and a wide range and massive amount of vegetables- most from my own garden (this time of the year, out of the freezer). I also use a bit of smoked meat, and fresh meat, but at much lower ratio than is in the usual American diet. This is my standard lunch out of a thermos during the work week. It was raining today so I made 3 gallons of stew- 1 pint per lunch.

Cooking vegetables in a meat broth turns them into something the most carnivorous among us can appreciate.

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thanks Alan! Iā€™ve tried everything to make veggies taste good but to no avail! i have to try your way. :wink:

Agree. I choke down vegetables just to get the damn fiber. Ugh.

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No, all fruits and veggies are not naturally low in calories. Many however are very high in sucrose and fructose which is not at all good for your health if you eat too many.

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Why do you need fiber?

I must be the only one who likes veggies. If you put enough butter on cabbage, turnip greens,or broccoli they taste great to me. This could mean that I like butter instead of veggies.

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I love vegetables, I just eat a lot more greens than I ever would by cooking them in broth with a bit of meat. I donā€™t even need butter- olive oil works for me also and we consume more of it than butter- in stew I use some fat from the meat. and poultry Even pizza is better with some fresh tomato. I also use a lot of parsley, which is very nutritious and adds flavor to everything without needing to be cooked or cooked a lot.

My with is Ethiopian of the Eritrean tribe. Eritreans are influenced a lot by Italian cuisine and their Mediterranean diet while Orthodox Christianity observes a lot of meatless days as does Islam- the two prominent religions of her homeland- these people know how to make vegetables delicious. There is also considerable mid-eastern influence. She makes great meatless pasta along with many other vegetarian dishes, much inspired by her multi-ethnic background but enhanced by having owned a gourmet sauce business. However, I was a hippy CA gardener before I met her and was already used to a high veg diet.

Guess you didnā€™t read this. Fiber Is Good for You. Now Scientists May Know Why. - The New York Times

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That is going to be my line to my wife, on my next plant order that comes in, and she sees! :slight_smile:

Genes also play a role in cancer. My dad was malnourished enough in his youth to get berry-berry and scurvy too, but lived till 86, which was young for his family granted, it did take some toll.

I donā€™t have this problem, I like the way they taste.

No, I do too.

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i like them as sides, but to make a meal out of them without adding some type meat i find unpalatable. believe me, Iā€™ve tried! my cholesterol is high despite the amount of fruit i eat. i was raised off of my fathers acre garden growing up, so we ate a lot of veggies . but always as a side to meat or fish. old habits die hard.

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Alan:

Thatā€™s a very nice article about the benefits of fiber.

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The trick is to make the meat or fish the side-dish. If it works for so many Asians it can work for you. Meats are more healthful as a flavoring than as the caloric staple, IMO. However they are one of the quickest ways to calorie up, which is good and bad.

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Iā€™ve never been to Europe,but a brother-in-law of mine who has,told me,that meat is usually secondary to other things at a meal. Itā€™s mostly a US tradition to have it as number one.
Habits are sometimes difficult to change. Brady

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