Colorful foods, which are commonly seen in fruits and vegetables, give a lot of health benefits. Along with a proper lifestyle, eating bright-colored fruits and vegetables works tremendously for good health and well-being. Each of them gives different nutrients with different health benefits.
You have red fruits and veggies that protect your heart, and the greens protect you from the risk of macular degeneration, while blue and purple help prevent stroke, cancer, and heart disease. You also have yellow fruits and veggies that protect your nervous system, and the orange fruits and veggies also come with so many health benefits for the typical health risks and challenges.
All these fruits and vegetables can be grown in your gardens or your backyard. To determine the best plant to grow, identify what you would like to benefit from, know their nutrient content, and learn to grow them. For example, if you need the nutrients from orange-colored fruits and veggies, get to know the health benefits these orange-colored plants can give.
Carrots
Carrot is the richest source of beta-carotene, an antioxidant that is good for the eyes and skin. When the human body processes beta carotene, it converts to Vitamin A as retinol, the vital nutrient for eyesight which lowers your risk of getting cataracts and other eye problems. It is also an essential nutrient to maintain healthy organs like lungs, kidneys, and heart.
Another essential health benefit of carrots is their function in boosting your immune system. The Vitamin C in carrots helps build antibodies that defend the immune system, and it also helps facilitate the body’s absorption of iron from your intake. Iron is an essential element in your body’s blood production.
When growing carrots in your garden, use mulch and do mulching for preparation because carrots grow best in loose, fluffy soils. Mulching will help you save time on watering and weeding while maintaining your garden’s tidiness and appearance. And most of all, by planting carrots in loose soil, you can expect a high yield from your harvest.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are botanically classified as fruits but are considered a vegetable by nutritionists because of its culinary use. Whichever you classify it, tomatoes are a great source of vitamin C and lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that gives many health benefits. The riper the tomatoes, the more lycopene you get.
Lycopene helps improve good eyesight, reduce pain, help build strong bones and protect your brains. Lycopene in tomatoes is most available when it undergoes the heating or cooking process.
Sweet Potato
Sweet potatoes are root crops that belong to the morning glory family, it tastes sweet, and it is starchy; thus, it becomes a staple food of many. Eating sweet potatoes gives lots of health benefits like it improves inflamed stomach ulcers and colons. You can also get Vitamins A and C, which function as scavengers of your cells, removing all the damaging free radicals in your body. Also, the fiber in sweet potatoes helps lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The easiest way to grow a sweet potato is by its cuttings, but you can also use the tubers. Plant them in well-prepared soil, keep them moist, allow the vine to mature, wait for the tubers to mature, and you can already harvest them.
Papaya
Papaya is a tropical fruit famous for its orange-colored flesh when ripe. Papaya is best known for its digestive enzyme called papain, which helps break down hard digestive foods in the stomach. To maximize the effectiveness of papain, eat the papaya raw and ripe.
Also, the fiber in papaya is good in fighting constipation, indigestion, and upset stomach. Surprisingly, the juice of papaya is good to prevent nausea and morning sickness during pregnancy. While fermented papaya helps reduce oxidative stress in older adults.
Oranges
Oranges are citrus, orange-colored fruits that grow on trees in warm climates. Among the common varieties of oranges include Mandarin, Blood oranges, and Seville oranges. Each type of orange is enough to provide your 100% RDA requirement for vitamin C; eat the flesh raw and fresh.
Orange contains an abundance of micronutrients. A medium-sized orange contains 60g calories, 14 micrograms of vitamin A, 237 mg of potassium, 70 mg of vitamin C, and a lot more. An orange on your diet helps protect your cells from damage, heals wounds, and helps your body produce collagen. It also helps fight anemia and slows down AMD or age-related macular degeneration.
Since oranges grow on trees, it is best to plant them in a large area or in a strategic location where it won’t disturb the growth and production of other plants in your garden.
Takeaway
Orange-color fruits and vegetables are very abundant and give lots of health benefits. You can quickly grow them in your garden or plant them on farms. Each has its properties that provide nutritional value. The list above gives you information on what to plant and what health benefits you will get. So on the next planting season, consider planting them for your health and well-being.
