Take Advantage of Healthy Fall Fruits and Vegetables

Take Advantage of Healthy Fall Fruits and Vegetables

Living in Ontario, we have an abundance of delicious and healthy fall fruits and vegetables available to us. Squash, apples, pears, beets, sweet potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and cauliflower—all are grown locally and all are available in October and November.

Looking to bump up your vitamin C intake? You might think that citrus fruits are the way to go, but pears, apples and cabbage are good sources of vitamin C too. Winter squash, carrots and sweet potatoes contain loads of Vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene. Both vitamin C and beta-carotene are powerful antioxidants that help us fight disease.

Beet greens are another rich source of nutrients including lutein, which promotes eye health. 

When you hollow out your pumpkin this Halloween, be sure to save the seeds for roasting. They are rich in protein and a good source of iron.

And remember—maintaining a healthy diet is not only essential to your physical health and ability to fight illness (like the many cold and flu viruses that will soon be upon us); it is also essential to healthy hair and skin. Inadequate nutrition can cause dryness and a dull appearance in both skin and hair. As the saying goes, you are what you eat—if you are healthy on the inside, you will look healthy on the outside.

For more information on what’s in season now and the nutritional value of different foods, visit the  HYPERLINK "http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/index.html" Foodland Ontario website. It also has some great recipes.



References:

 HYPERLINK "http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/index.html" Foodland Ontario

 HYPERLINK "http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=49" World’s Healthiest Foods