Fruit and vegetables

Fruit and vegetables are an important part of your daily diet. They contain vitamins and minerals that can help to keep you healthy. They may also help protect you from some diseases. There are many varieties of fruit and vegetables available and, if you buy them in season, they are not expensive.

Fruit and vegetables are available dried, canned, frozen or fresh. They can be prepared, cooked and served in a variety of ways and should be included in every meal.

Fruit is the sweet fleshy edible portion of a plant. It usually contains seeds. Fruit is usually eaten raw, although some varieties can be cooked. Fruits are a great source of ‘protective’ vitamins and minerals. As a group, fruits contain: many vitamins and minerals and are low in fat, dietary fibre, vitamin A (beta-carotene) - found in fruits like mango, pawpaw and apricot, vitamin C - found in citrus fruits, berries, mango, pawpaw and pineapple, natural sugars called fructose.

Many hundreds of fruits, including fleshy fruits like apple, peach, pear, kiwifruit, watermelon and mango are commercially valuable as human food, eaten both fresh and as jams, marmalade and other preserves. Fruits are also found commonly in such manufactured foods as cookies, muffins, yoghurt, ice cream, cakes, and many more. Many fruits are used to make beverages, such as fruit juices (orange juice, apple juice, grape juice, etc) or alcoholic beverages, such as wine or brandy.

To gain the maximum benefit from fruit, ensure that whenever possible it is fresh, and if the skins are edible, eat them too. Dried fruits and fruit juices can form part of your daily diet. However, they should be used in moderation, as fruit juices lose most of their natural fibre in the juicing process and dried fruits are high in carbohydrate (sugar).

Types of vegetables. Vegetables are often cooked, although some kinds (salad vegetables) are eaten raw. Vegetables are available in many varieties. Vegetables can be classified into biological groups or ‘families’:

· Leafy green - lettuce, spinach

· Crucifer family - cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and broccoli

· Gourd family - pumpkin and cucumber

· Root - potato, sweet potato and yam

· Edible plant stem - celery and asparagus

· Allium family - onion, garlic and shallot.

Vegetables contain many beneficial vitamins and minerals including: vitamin A, like beta-carotene and riboflavin, vitamins B, C and E, minerals like folate, magnesium, zinc and phosphorous, folic acid - found in green leafy vegetables, peas and avocado.

Balance your vegetable intake between the orange/red and green varieties. The more colourful your choice the healthier it usually is and, as an easy rule, the darker and brighter the colour of the vegetable the more vitamins, minerals and fibre they usually contain.

Legumes or pulses contain nutrients that are especially valuable. Legumes need to be cooked before they are eaten; this improves their nutritional quality, aids digestion and eliminates any harmful toxins. Legumes come in many forms including: soy products, legume flours, dried beans and peas, fresh beans and peas.

Fruit and vegetables in the diet have many positive effects upon health. Their high dietary fibre content helps control blood glucose levels, reduces blood cholesterol and probably reduces the risk of colon cancer and other cancers.

They contain not only antioxidants but also phytochemicals which may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. More than any other foods, they contain essential vitamins such as A, B, C, E and folic acid and minerals like potassium, calcium, zinc and manganese, which are all vital for good health and disease prevention.

4.Answer the following questions.

1.What place do fruit and vegetables take in daily diet of people?

2.What forms are they available in?

3.What is fruit? What nutrients does it contain?

4.Where are fruits used?

5.How can we get the maximum benefit from fruit?

6.What groups are vegetables classified into?

7.What is the nutritional value of vegetables?

8.Can we determine the nutrient content of vegetables by colour?

9.Is it necessary to cook legumes before eating? Why?

10.What effect do fruit and vegetables have upon health?

5.Arrange the words into three groups.

Pineapple, cucumber, soya, mango, cabbage, potato, apricot, apple, beans, cauliflower, pear, pumpkin, peas, garlic, cherry, onion.

Fruit	Vegetables	Legumes
…	…	…

6.Read the following text replacing the Ukrainian words by their English equivalents.

Овочі and фрукти are nutritionally very important.

Vegetables are recogni­zed practically by the cuisine of every country. They are eaten not only as garnishes to meat and fish but as separate dishes too. Картопля is a starchy food. Морква is rich in vitamin A, капуста in vitamin C. Цибуля and часник enhance the flavour of a dish and are known for their antibiotic properties. Редиска, буряк, хрін, салат intensify activity of pancreas.

Фрукти and ягоди make not only a good dessert but an accompaniment course too. They are used for making cakes, jams, jellies, ice-creams, etc. Чорна смородина is excepti­onally rich in vitamin C. It is followed by полуниця and other soft fruits, апельсин, грейпфрут and many fruit juices. Яблука, банани, вишні are examples of fruits which contain much less of the vitamin C and in this respect they do not compare with green vegetables.

Dried fruits do not contain vitamin C. Dried абрикоси are useful sources of B-carotene. Горіхи and their products are rich in fat and protein and are a concentra­ted source of energy. They are a good source of the B-vitamins, but contain no vitamins A or C.

7. Read and remember the following words:

be of benefit – бути корисним;

loss – втрата;

trim – обрізати;

peel – очищати (фрукти, овочі);

chop – нарізувати, кришити;

resistant – стійкий;

blanch – бланшувати;

labile – нестійкий.

8.Read and translate the text.