Fruit ingestion, done 30 minutes before the main meal, has been identified as a major boost to better quality of health, solution to many chronic diseases ailing mankind and ultimately promotion of longevity.
Professor of Post-Harvest Technology, Isaac Oluwalana, while delivering the 103rd Inaugural Lecture of the Federal University of Technology, Akure said Nigerians are not taking enough fruits.
He recommended a daily intake of 400g of fresh fruits, which should constitute at least 20 per cent of the daily food intake for a healthy lifestyle, as many nutritionists and medical personnel now consider fruits and vegetable consumption as a solution to many diseases of civilization and various age-related ailments.
Speaking on the topic: “Give us this day our daily fruit: A Panacea to Wastage, Ageing and Micronutrients Deficiency Diseases”, he pointed out that fruits in the daily diet are strongly correlated with overall good health, improved gastrointestinal health, vision enhancement, reduced symptoms of diabetes, anaemia, gastric ulcer, rheumatoid arthritis and many other chronic diseases.
The professor said the exact mechanics by which fruit consumption reduces human diseases has yet to be fully understood but that the general consensus among physicians and nutritionists is that phytonutriceuticals in fruits are responsible for mitigating some of these diseases.
Oluwalana highlighted common tropical fruits in diseases management to include citrus fruits, bananas, plantains, pawpaw, watermelon, cucumber, and pineapple.
He said these fruits contain Vitamin C, Vitamin B complex, dietary fibre, phytonutrients and minerals which have anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
Professor Oluwalana, who is the head of department, Food and Science Technology, recommended that intensive public enlightenment on the nutritional and health benefits of fruits be made by the appropriate government and non-governmental agencies to the Nigerian populace.
Source: allure.vanguardngr.com
