Alright, most of us would enjoy a serving of fruit a day. A fruit salad, cocktail or even just picking one from the fridge whenever we feel the craving. As for vegetables, well it’s a different story. Especially for the kids and even more so, if they have been raised in the world of fast food.

The movie “Super Size Me” was no laughing matter. Experts say America is getting fat, too fat now that we have to do something about it. That perhaps explains why the contestants at the recently concluded Miss Universe pageant were so slim and thin. I wonder though, how many of them are in good healthy condition?

Aside from worrying about grease-loaded food and all the heart risks they carry with them, we also worry about another more serious disease; cancer. Reading the title of this post is a dead giveaway. Need I say it again?

eat fruits

Or perhaps you’d listen more to Dr. Rui Hai Liu, Cornell associate professor of food science who just recently found out that fruit peelings, particularly of apples contain dozens of natural compounds that are active in fighting cancer cells, and thereby preventing their development in the human body.

“We found that several compounds have potent anti-proliferative activities against human liver, colon and breast cancer cells and may be partially responsible for the anti-cancer activities of whole apples,” says Rui Hai Liu, Cornell associate professor of food science.

So it’s all in the skin, I mean in the peel? I remember when as a kid, whenever I’ll eat grapes I’d go through the trouble of peeling them one by one before eating them. My mother would tell me not to and eat the grapes with their peels intact as most of the good stuff can be found in the skin. She said the same about the other fruits that I was fond of peeling, apples and pears. It now turns out that my mom was right after all and Dr. Rui Hai Liu has just confirmed it.

In those peelings triterpenoids were the indentified compounds that do most of the anti-cancer work in the human body. Along with previously discovered compounds like the phytochemicals, these compounds are natural substances that help us prevent cancer and live longer healthier lives.

Photo by .imelda

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6 Responses

  1. Benj Espina

    03|Jun|2007

    I don’t eat fruits and vegetables. Am I going to die, doctor?

  2. jhay

    03|Jun|2007

    We’re all going to die eventually Benj.

    Since you don’t eat fruits or veggies, I don’t know. Surely you must have eaten a fruit or vegetable in your life.

    And you occasionally get to eat pieces of it in the meals you take. ;)

  3. Benj Espina

    03|Jun|2007

    We’re all going to die?! They didn’t teach that in med school!!!

    By the way, I’m the type who removes veggies from pizza, soups and sauces. I have never eaten vegetables voluntarily. Root crops are technically not vegetables so I can make that claim. haha

  4. Brix

    04|Jun|2007

    As I recall, there’s supposed to be a health triangle - the base of the triangle (most of the food) should be veggies and fruits. The top of the triangle (least food type) should be meat.

    You might notice, however, that in real life this is not oftentimes the case.

  5. Benj Espina

    04|Jun|2007

    Ah, the food pyramid. Yeah, it says you must eat 6 servings of fruits and vegetables….A DAY! hehe

    I think the ones at the top are cakes and other high calorie food.

  6. jhay

    04|Jun|2007

    It will be quite tricky to eat more vegetables and fruits because of the GMO thing. ;)

    Fear not though, organic veggies and fruits are here to save us.


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