Wonderfull Strength Of Fruits And                          Vegetables

WHY VITAMINS AND MINERALS ARE THE ANSWER

So many of us wish we had more energy, better abs, and sharper focus. Likewise, we often find ourselves wishing that we had better skin or hair. We wish that we could sleep better at night, and wish that it was a little bit easier to wake up (those last two points are related, by the way!).

This has led to the emergence of numerous industries, all built around helping us to feel, look, and perform better. We spend huge amounts of cash on skincare products, on sleep supplements, and on gym memberships. We try all kinds of crazy things, whether that’s lying on a bed of gentle spikes to improve sleep (yes, that’s a real thing!), wearing blue-blocking shades all day, or wearing energyhealing crystals (which are about as effective as wishing really hard!)

We try these things because we’re looking for answers, and we’re desperate. We’re willing to try anything. And we hope, each time, that we’re about to stumble upon the answer and unlock our full potential.

We hope that ONE of these things will provide the answer and help us feel GREAT as we know that we really can do. But very few of these strategies makes any noticeable difference.

The problem? We’re overcomplicating matters. And this is largely due to the huge amount of marketing that gets thrown at us on a daily basis. In truth, improving the way you look and feel is very simple: it’s about the basics!

Consider what is very likely to be your current lifestyle and your current diet. Raise your hand if any of these points apply to you:

    • You don’t manage your five fruits and vegetables a day 

    • You eat a lot of processed foods and ready meals 

    • You go to the gym 3 times a week or less – and aren’t particularly mobile the rest of the time

    • You don’t get enough sleep 

    • You are in a state of chronic stress due to work, family, and financial pressures 

  • You spend a lot of your free time on the couch,watching cartoons

  • You spend more than eight hours a day looking at a computer screen, with a hunched back, staring at a bright screen 

  • You spend barely any time outdoors

  • You drink contaminated tap water 

  • You breathe harmful smog-filled air

This is a rather bleak picture, but it’s true for MANY of us. We don’t eat enough greens, we don’t sleep, we gorge on sugary foods, and we’re stressed all the time. Then we wonder why we don’t feel 100%

This is true right down to the fact that most of us are too comfortable – we have become “adapted” to a comfortable, domesticated lifestyle, and therefore our bodies have forgotten how to deal with stress or difficulty. Take going outdoors for instance. Most of us just don’t do this enough, which means that we aren’t getting the important stimulus of sunlight, which helps to encourage the body to produce vitamin D, which in turn regulates things like hormone production, sleep, mood… even appetite!

Without that important input (called an “external zeitgebers” in the scientific literature) our body loses some of its natural rhythm and certain processes are interrupted. 

But then there’s the huge benefit of being in the cold. Evenwhen the sun isn’t out, being outdoors helps to boost testosterone levels, strengthen our immune system, and even improve our ability to regulate our own body temperature.

Even spending time barefooted on the earth (which trains tiny muscles in the foot), even diving into water and holding our breath (which trains our lungs and improves our CO2 balance)… these are all things our bodies crave. And we aren’t giving themthat.

And our bodies are deteriorating massively as a result. Compare a wolf in the wild to an overweight, spoiled domestic dog. Which is healthier?

STARTING WITH VEGETABLES AND FRUITS IS THE SOLUTION

Starting with vegetables and fruits is the solution. Why?

 Well, it’s all very good and well me telling you that you should be working out throughout the day, and that you should be eating perfectly, and that you should be taking long swims in freezing cold water in the morning. Problem is, we don’t have time for that and our bodies are now so maladapted that they wouldn’t handle it.

Micronutrients are vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, antioxidants, and other active ingredients in our food that our body uses for a wide variety of different purposes. What many people don’t realize is that we literally are what we eat. You hear this a lot, but many people assume that it is a kind of metaphor. But no: your body takes in the nutrients that you consume and then it uses those nutrients to actually rebuild your body.

For example, your bones are made partly from calcium, and magnesium. These also help to strengthen your connective tissue (tendons and ligaments), your teeth, and your nails. Connective tissues similarly benefit from the likes of collagen (found inbone broth) which also helps to improve yourskin. If only you could get more fruit and vegetables in your diet then, you would become the healthiest and most effective version of yourself. And that in turn might then give you the energy and willpower to do the rest

Fruits and vegetables can even supercharge your metabolism, helping you to burn through much more fat! As we will see in the rest of this book, fixing your intake of fruits and vegetables doesn’t need to be difficult. If you are strategic, then making just a few simple changes can transform your health and wellbeing.

This book will also outline many of the other amazing and complex ways in which fruits can improve your health and performance – some of which are absolutely transformative to the way you look and feel. You’ll know precisely which fruits and vegetables you need to cure any of your current maladies, and you’ll know precisely how to get them.

AN INTRODUCTION TO VITAMINS

It may surprise you to know that vitamins were discovered less than 100 years ago. Until they were officially discovered, doctors knew that certain foods helped with certain physical conditions, but they did not understand why.

 For example, the British Navy carried a supply of limes as early as 1975 because doctors had found that eating a certain amount each day, or drinking the juice, stopped sailors from getting scurvy. 

However, it was not until 1912 that Casimir Funk, working in the UK then later in the USA came up with the term “vitamines,” which later became vitamins. 11

Fat soluble vitamins are those vitamins that the body is able to store. This means that if you do not use all of the vitamins that you consume, they can be stored in the body for use when the body is in need of them.

Fat Soluble Vitamins

The most commonly known fat soluble vitamins are vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K.

Vitamin A helps to keep the skin moisturised, as well as ensuring that the mucus membranes remain moist, supple and smooth. It also helps to maintain healthy eyesight in low light, as well as keeping the reproductive system healthy and promoting healthy bone growth. Sources of vitamin A include whole milk, butter, eggs and liver. A form of vitamin A, carotenoids are found in red, yellow and dark green vegetables and fruit.

Vitamin D is essential for the body to absorb calcium. Therefore, it is responsible for healthy teeth and bones, just like calcium. However, both are needed and work together. Vitamin D is often added to 'fortified' foods such as fat spreads and cereals. It is also known as the sunshine vitamin as the main source of vitamin D comes from sunlight

Water Soluble Vitamins

The most commonly know water soluble vitamins are vitamin C, and the entire group of B vitamins. Vitamin C is also known as ascorbic acid. It helps to maintain the body's connective tissues, that is, the muscle, fat, and bone framework.

It also helps to heal wounds by speeding up the production of new cells, is an anti-oxidant, and helps the body to absorb iron. Another function of vitamin C is to protect the body's immune system enabling it to fight infection

Sources of vitamin C include fruit, fruit juices and vegetables. The B group of vitamins consists of B1 or thiamin, B2 or riboflavin, B3 or niacin, B6 or pyridoxine and B12 or cyanocobalamin. This group of vitamins is essentially concerned with keeping the body functioning properly.

Vitamin B1 is essential in helping the body to metabolise energy from fats, alcohol and carbohydrates. Sources of this vitamin are lean pork, unrefined cereals, seeds and nuts

AN INTRODUCTION TO MINERALS AND OTHER AMAZING NUTRIENTS IN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Whereas fruits are typically packed with vitamins, minerals tend to come moreso from our vegetables – though make no mistake, both fruits AND vegetables are packed with both. So, a good question to start with might be: what is the difference between a vitamin and a mineral?

 Whereas vitamins are organic and thereby are typically quite volatile (they can be broken down by the likes of heat, air, and acid), minerals are conversely inorganic. In fact, a mineral can actually be a metal or a rock – something you would never really think of as being a fundamental building block in what makes you.

That’s why an incorrect balance of sodium and potassium can cause cramping, as the body is unable to send messages correctly to the muscles. Likewise, a lack of calcium can reduce strength as it is needed to handle the charge in the muscle cells.

Did you know? You can tell the difference between a fruit and vegetable based on the seed/stone. Vegetables don’t have them! Foods that have surprising categorizations include: tomatoes (fruit), coconut (fruit), avocado (fruit), and cucumber(fruit)

Other Essential Micronutrients

As well as being rich in vitamins and minerals, fruits and vegetables are also a rich source of the two other essential nutrients. The other essential nutrients are: essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids.

The term “essential” means that these substances cannot be synthesized within the body, and so therefore must be obtained from our diet. And perhaps this should also be a clue as to how big a problem it is that 99% of us are not getting them that way!

'This is why amino acids and proteins by extension are so important for bodybuilders and athletes trying to build muscle.

Thus, many people will be hard at work trying to find sources of protein from meat and will eat large amounts of chicken to build bigger muscles. This can become hard work! But what they forget is that vegetables and even fruits also contain protein (though vegetables are slightly superior in this sense).

Amino acids also play a host of other roles in the body and are used to produce digestive enzymes, neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) and much more. They can also do things such as creating

Finally, fruits and vegetables contain essential fatty acids. These are important fats that help us to better absorb other fruits and vegetables, and also serve a range of additional useful benefits – such as enhancing brain function (the brain is made of a large amount of fat!).

Omega 3 is one of the most powerful essential fatty acids there is and has a HUGE host of amazing benefits. Often, we think of omega 3 as being something we get from fish, but in fact it also exists in good amounts in seaweed, hemp seed, walnuts, kidney beans, soybean and more.

 

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES FOR ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE

When you think of a diet for building muscle, your mind probably turns to the classic options. You likely will focus primarily on protein sources like chicken, tuna and eggs. An athlete’s diet should consist of nothing but meta and steamed rice, right?

But this is far from the only kind of food that’s going to be useful for building muscle and improving performance. In fact, for bodybuilding, sprinting, swimming, long-distance running, and any other kind of athletic pursuit it is highly important that you get a balanced diet that will incorporate a wide range of different food groups. In particular, it is crucial you get your fruits and vegetables

Top Fruits and Vegetables That Improve Athletic Performance

Beets

Beets are far and away among the very most important vegetables for building muscle and for athletes of all kinds. That’s because beets are among the most effective foods in the world when it comes to raising nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is a natural ‘vasodilator’. This means that it can cause the blood vessels (veins and arteries) to dilate (widen) thereby encouraging the flow of oxygen and nutrients around the body. The result is that the muscles get more oxygen and energy during training and more nutrients for enhancing recovery. This can help you lift for more reps, run further distances and recover at a faster rate.

Potatoes

Carbohydrates are often made out to be the bad guys but in fact they are very important for building muscle and for physical training in general. Potatoes are a good choice of carbohydrate because they’re also high in fiber, high in vitamin C (which enhances recovery) and low in calories. Consume after a workout and the energy will go straight to the muscles rather than the waist

Spinach 

Spinach is a vegetable that is high in protein as well as being a good source of phytoecdysteroids. These don’t have anything in common with anabolic steroids but they may have a similar effect – with some studies suggesting they are a good option for encouraging muscle building and testosterone production.

Kale

Kale is the vegetable highest in calcium. Calcium is actually very important for your workouts, not only does it help to strengthen the bones but it also reinforces your connective tissue and it helps to strengthen contractions for more explosive power during workouts. Kale is very trendy right now being high in protein and low in calories. A shame it costs a fair bit though!

Mushrooms

 Mushrooms are technically not fruits or vegetables, but they are found in the same aisle and they’re safe for vegans, so they’re fair game to include here. Mushrooms are not only another great source of protein but also come with a wide range of additional health benefits and advantages. They’re packed with minerals, they can encourage recovery from training and much more besides! It’s surely only a matter of time until we start seeing mushroom protein shakes cropping up in health stores! The other amazing benefit of mushrooms is that they contain vitamin D. In fact, they’re one of the few dietary sources of vitamin D! (Another being oily fish).