Eating fruits and vegetables is one of the best ways to maintain good health. Fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet. They contain vitamins, phytochemicals, and minerals that can protect your body from diseases like diabetes, cancers, and heart diseases. Ideally, you should consume five kinds of vegetables and two kinds of fruits each day.

Fruits and vegetables are essential components of your daily diet. Some contain natural antioxidants that can help to keep you healthy and fit, providing nutrients which are valuable resources of energy and sustaining the quality of your life.

The common vitamins present in fruits and vegetables include vitamin A, vitamin C, folate and potassium. Almost all fruits and vegetables are low in fat and calories. Many are excellent sources of natural fiber.

Some health professionals recommend from five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables. The serving depends on your daily caloric intake. If you need around 2000 calories each day, you might need up to nine servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

You should get best results if you consume a variety of fruits and vegetables. Eating a single type or color of fruit and vegetable may not offer the required nutrition. Each type and color of fruit or vegetable that is generally available has some benefit.

To get the best nutrients from your fruits and vegetables, eat those which are in season in your region. Fresh produce has the best levels of the nutrients we may need during the season.

If you eat out-of-season fruits and vegetables, their nutrient value might be less, they will probably cost more and their production and transportation may have a greater financial and environmental cost.

Your diet has a critical role in defining your health and energy levels which affects every other part of your life. The fruits and vegetables you consume regularly are a powerful storehouse of beneficial, even vital, vitamins and nutrients which help out body to protect itself against many diseases and other negative factors in our environment.

Different fruits and vegetables offer varied benefits for your health.

Vegetables that are said to be high in antioxidants and nutrients include broccoli, asparagus, brussels sprouts, beets, carrots, onions, cauliflower, red peppers, squash, tomatoes, and garlic.

Fruits that some say are high in antioxidants and nutrients include apples, blueberries, apricots, bananas, cherries, cantaloupe, oranges, kiwifruits, peaches, and pink grapefruits.

Nutrients of Fruits and Vegetables

 

Fruits and vegetables contain many different varieties of nutrients. Some fruits and vegetables are a virtual storehouse of beneficial minerals like anthocyanins, resveratrol, lycopene, and more phytochemicals are being found as research into the fruits and vegetables is conducted.

 

 

Phytochemicals

 

These plant nutrients help sustain your body against the worst ravages of the aging process and may help to reduce health risks like heart ailments, high blood pressure and cholesterol.

Some of the phytochemicals include:

 

Anthocyanins, available in blackberries, blueberries, cherries, eggplant, plums, and kiwi fruit are claimed by some to have important properties that may help reduce the occurrence of severity of some urinary tract infections.

 

Lycopene, available in watermelon, tomatoes, and pink grapefruit.

 

Resveratrol is available in red grapes and peanuts. CAUTION: more people are finding they may have an allergic reaction to peanuts every year

Suggested Servings of Fruit and Vegetables

 

People are often confused about the quantity indicated by a single serving or a cup.

 

Ideally, one cup refers to:

 

Vegetables

 

2 cups raw leafy vegetables

 

1 cup raw or cooked vegetables

 

1 cup baby carrots or approximately twelve carrots

 

1 cup cooked or canned dried beans or peas

 

1 medium potato

 

1 cup vegetable juice

 

Fruits

 

1 cup cut-up or cooked fruit

 

1 medium piece of fruit

 

1 large banana

 

1/2 cup dried fruit

 

1/4 small cantaloupe

 

1 cup berries or grapes

 

1 cup 100% fruit juice

A great e-book is focused on showing you the benefits which are claimed for adding more vegetables and fruit to your diet and broadening the choices which you know about. It will also give you a variety of tasty and nutritious recipes toward the end of the book.

To find out more fabulous information about how to incorporate a healthy lifestyle with more fruits and vegetables order your copy of Fabulous Fruit and Vegetables today.

Georgina Cundall
http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/the-health-benefits-of-fruits-and-vegetables-701055.html

Through the years, there have been many suggested ways on how to decorate a personal space. With the long list of available ideas, you must never overlook the use of indoor trees.

Indoor trees provide not only aesthetic value, but also display environmental value. Also, there may be some of you who want to grow trees but have troubles growing them outdoor because of bad climate, and you need to resort to growing trees indoor. Indoor trees are not hard to deal with. They require minimal care, and provide huge results with little work.

It is recommended to buy indoor trees from a florist, a nursery, or a garden center rather than from mass merchandisers. Many specialists offer a warranty period of at least sixty days to determine if the trees are best fit and would grow well in your home or office.

Before buying trees, first decide if you can supply the trees with their basic needs. Different trees have different needs – light and humidity in various amounts. Also consider the budget that you have and the amount of space that you would fit the trees in.

Choose trees according to the space’s exposure to light. Also use small pots to keep the roots intact and keep the trees narrower and smaller.

There are many variants of indoor trees, the most popular of which is ficus. Ficus trees need exposure to bright, indirect light because of their nature as tropical plants. You should not overreact if they tend to drop leaves occasionally. Dropping leaves is just the ficus’ response mechanism to environment changes. The ficus requires monthly fertilization and much humidity. It is advisable to place it in a dish filled with gravel to keep the moist.

Dracaena plants are the most commonly used indoor trees in offices. Dracaenas are best suited for low-light environments. Dracaena requires very minimal care, high humidity, and indirect light. They also should be fed monthly with a half-strength indoor plant fertilizer. Other examples of low-light plants are the Aspidistra and the Algoanema or Chinese evergreen.

There is also a group of medium-light plants, examples of which are the raphis palm or the lady palm. These require northern or eastern exposure, and do not need afternoon sunlight.

Citrus trees are also used widely as indoor plants because of their fragrant flowers. Examples are grapefruit, lime and orange. Citrus trees also need much humidity. In addition, there should be four to six hours of exposure to direct sunlight everyday, and an application of blooming-plant fertilizer for every three to four weeks.

There are other indoor trees that are widely used nowadays, such as the cactus, Norfolk Island pine, schefflera, philodendron, and dieffenbachia. It is your choice on what indoor tree best suits you.

Patrick Desnoyers
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/general-article-on-indoor-trees-90661.html

The entry to a home or the doorway into rooms is where your first view is encountered. Doorways and entrances to anything should feel welcoming. They should be clear and the pathway should allow ease of movement.

The Chi, (or energy flow), should never be made stagnant at this point. Pictures and ornamental decorations in this area should be pleasing and round leafed plants in pots attract prosperity into the home. Another tip to remember is that if you have doorways from front to back that are visible, the flowing of energy should be stopped from escape.

A Feng Shui cure for this problem, can be by placing a plant as suggested to the side of the entry: thus creating an environment to capture the Chi flow. The essence of creating good flow and attracting harmony, involves placement.

Feng Shui recognizes that small problems can have a major effect on your life, and that a well kept home will always have better chi than one where maintenance tasks have been allowed to pile up. The minor problems and inconveniences that plague a poorly maintained home can restrict your freedom of movement, cloud your ability to understand a situation, make it difficult to take advantage of opportunities, and waste your resources.

Think of Chi as an important guest you wish to welcome to your home, and make your formal entry – and the access to it from the street – as inviting as possible.

The principles of Feng Shui can be applied to your garden as well. By applying Feng Shui principles to your garden you can attract positive energy, wealth and good fortune. Given below are a few tips and ideas on how to Feng Shui your garden.

The most important principles of Feng Shui in the garden are curves and proportion. Your house is the Yin energy and your garden is the Yang energy. The Yang aspect in Feng Shui is about light and space. Try to incorporate all the five elements of Feng Shui in your garden as much as possible.

» Use a pond, birdbath or fountain to represent the water element.

» Use a sundial or bronze statue in the garden for metal.

» Use trees and shrubs for wood.

» Use plants or flowers that are red and orange in color to represent fire.

» Use earth to represent the earth element.

Water features such as pools, ponds and fountains are beautiful and encourage beneficial chi. They also symbolize prosperity and create yin (feminine) energy.

You can create more Yang (masculine) energy by using garden lights to add light to the garden’s dark areas. Remember balance and harmony is the key to a Feng Shui Garden.

Please take the time to visit our site – http://www.GardenandHomeDecorSite.com – to help with creating beneficial Chi in your environment.

Kathy Tyson
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/feng-shui-tips-for-gardening-692872.html

You can use landscaping rock to add some depth and texture to your landscaping design. This landscaping rock can come in a couple of different forms, actually there are quite a few. Not only is there a fine collection of colors of landscaping rock there is also several different kinds of stone to choose from. Different landscaping designs will require different landscaping rock. You can get small landscaping rock or larger landscaping rock.

The trick to using landscaping rock successfully is to fully integrate it into your yard and the design. You need to place it in places that will add to the yard, not in places that will make it look like you are trying to cover something up or take attention away from another part of the yard. If you were to just put your landscaping rock here and there you will be doing nothing for the yard and your yard will end up looking strange and unbalanced. You should plan exactly where each landscaping rock should be placed for the ultimate good effect.

If you take the time to bury your rock it will look much better. This will make them look planted and they will blend in and look as if this is where they really should be, not just where they got clunked down.

How far should you bury your rock in the ground? The depth will all depend upon the landscaping rock that you finally choose fro your yard. If you choose a very large landscaping rock then it should be deeper than a smaller landscaping rock. Four to six inches is a good depth for your landscaping rock to be buried.

It is easy to build a landscaping rock. All you need to do is dig a spot about the size of your landscaping rock and them place the rock into it. You can then just tuck some dirt into the spot around the rock and then you are done. Voila!

Think about it, this is what rocks and boulders look like when you see them out in nature. The next time that you are out taking a walk or you are hiking keep an eye out for any large rocks, look at how they sit in the dirt and then try to get the landscaping rock in your yard to look just as natural.

gardeningm
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/what-is-landscaping-rock-682492.html

What’s the best way for a man to make a lasting impression on a woman? Recent consumer research shows that the answer to making a memorable impact is right under his nose– through flowers. In fact, the study shows that 92% of women can remember the last time they received flowers, and 89% say receiving flowers makes them feel special.

Giving great floral gifts, however, still remains a mystery to most men. To help them out, author and TV host Rebecca Cole provides guidance on giving females flowers.

“Flowers are a sensual gift that can express any emotion so simply – with just a little knowledge and a phone call to the florist.”

Cole offers advice to guys on:

How to send just the right message to the woman in his life – a new girlfriend, that special someone, Mom or a good friend.

• The New Thing. This emotion may be the most difficult for a man to express, so Cole provides style advice for the guy who wants to show his new romantic interest exactly how he feels. “A passionate arrangement is filled with hot pinks, oranges, reds and golds. Add a thoughtful card to help communicate just the right sentiment,” says Cole.
• The Real Deal. Flowers are intimately – and internationally – linked with the art of romance, and for good reason says Cole. “As relationships grow, flowers become symbols of different events and milestones in our lives together. Take note of her favorite flowers – the varieties at your wedding, flowers you sent her when you first started dating or the ones she buys for herself. Those will have great meaning and impact.”
• Leading Ladies. “No woman – especially moms, grandmas and sisters – should live without a little TLC,” says Cole. A fabulous flowering plant or a garden-style arrangement with greens and soft pastel hues – no matter what the flower – will send the message that you care.
• The Gal Pal. “Flowers that show you’re thinking of someone, but not in a sensual way, have anatural, just-picked feeling,” says Cole. She advises to ask for a selection of garden-style flowers or a bright bold color palette that is fun and whimsical. A basket with a mix of flowering and green plants delivered to her door or office is also a sure fire winner.

What are the three top design styles that men can ask for with confidence:

Research shows that 96% of women like to receive flowers when they’re not expecting them. “Guys should know that they don’t have to wait for a special occasion to give flowers,” Cole says. “Make an occasion by sending flowers to the woman in your life, just because. They’ll never forget it.”

Cole offers advice for men willing to try something trendy. She suggests these three top design styles that men can ask for with confidence:

• Monobotanic. Arrangements featuring only one type of flower (such as all roses, tulips, lilies or iris) are in style and may even include different colors of the same flower in the vase or container.
• Monochromatic. Pick a color, any color and stick with it! If her favorite color is pink, for example, ask your florist for a fresh bouquet of different flowers in the same color range.
• Bunches of Texture. Ask your florist to select complementary flowers of various textures to place in bunches in an elegant glass container. This unique look has a bold, contemporary feel and will surely provide the “wow” factor.
• Need to find a florist? Check Online Florist in your area or just search on internet.
• Don’t know what to say on the card? Check for Creative quotes messages for every occasion. 

A Guy’s Checklist of Things to Remember

• Be Spontaneous. You don’t have to wait for a special occasion to give flowers. In fact, most women say “no reason” is the best reason to get flowers.
• Size Doesn’t Matter. Trust your florist to help you send an arrangement that is appropriate for the occasion. Bouquets both big and small can make a bold statement. It’s the sentiment that makes the impact.
• Score Big Points. Surprise her by sending a bouquet to her office, and see how much attention you’ll get because of the attention she got.
• Relax. flowers don’t have to mean commitment. Women know when an arrangement simply means that you care.

“The most important thing to remember is that you simply cannot go wrong with flowers,” said Cole. “Your florist is there to help, but you’ll get all the credit.”

Flower Guru
http://www.articlesbase.com/gifts-articles/guys-guide-to-giving-flowers-716671.html