Fall may be marked with comfort food and high-calorie holidays, but the season’s richly-colored fruits and vegetables are deliciously loaded with vitamins, minerals, and health-promoting nutrients. Here are four fall foods you should be eating.
Fall may be marked with comfort food and high-calorie holidays, but the season’s richly-colored fruits and vegetables are deliciously loaded with vitamins, minerals, and health-promoting nutrients. Here are four fall foods you should be eating.
Pumpkin
Low in calories (only 50 calories per cup, cooked) and loaded with antioxidants, pumpkin is one of the most nutritious in-season fall fruits. Packed with beta-carotene, a plant carotenoid that converts to vitamin A in the body, pumpkin is also high in B vitamins, potassium, fiber, and the antioxidant zeaxanthin, which is associated with vision health. Filling up on pumpkin can ward off heart disease, cancer, and other degenerative age-related diseases.
Brussels sprouts
Essentially a mini-cabbage, Brussels sprouts are part of the Brassica family of veggies, which are well-known for their cancer-fighting capabilities. Brussels sprouts come in at 60 calories per cup, delivering about 4 grams each of protein and fiber, and a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals that can reduce your risk of heart disease, and age-related ailments, particularly osteoarthritis.
Pomegranates
One of my favorite anti-aging fall fruits, pomegranates are power-packed with antioxidants and other nutrients that can boost your defense against cancer, joint pain, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease. To boot, an average pomegranate has only 100 calories.
Swiss chard
A tasty source of vitamins K, A and C, iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and fiber, chard is a highly-concentrated source of nutrients and is ultra-low in calories (only 35 calories per cup, cooked). This dark leafy green is associated with blood sugar control, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, bone health, heart health, and immunity.
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