By Dr John Briffa

LONDON: Fruit thoroughly deserves its wholesome reputation and is one foodstuff about which there seems to be very little contention: nutrition experts agree that fruit is healthy, and nearly all of us accept that eating more of it can only be a good thing. Even so, a recent survey found that only three out of 10 of us actually consume the recommended amounts of fresh produce each day. So while our faith in fruit is undoubted, it appears we are not overly keen on eating it in useful quantities.

All fruits contain a complex of nutritional elements, a key component of which is fibre. Fibre is important, as diets rich in it have been linked with a reduced risk of conditions as diverse as gallstones, heart disease and cancer. But while the fibre in fruit is likely to confer significant health benefits, it’s only part of the story. Fruit is also rich in a range of nutrients that offer real disease-protection power. Most of us are aware of the almost ubiquitous presence of vitamin C in fruit, but we may not be familiar with other goodies such as beta-carotene (found in mango, apricots and kiwi fruit) and folic acid (found in strawberries and citrus fruits). Along with vitamin C, beta-carotene has the ability to combat ageing and disease-promoting molecules known as free radicals. And folic acid has been linked with a reduced risk of several cancers, and might possibly offer relative protection from heart disease, too.

Fruit also contains still more health-giving elements in the form of phytochemicals. These plant compounds are said to have significant protective effects against disease. Black grapes, for instance, have been found to contain the phytochemical resveratrol, which some are lauding as the critical heart-healthy factor in red wine. Hesperidin, a phytochemical found in citrus fruits, is also thought to help stave off heart disease. Strawberries and other berries, meanwhile, are rich in ellagic acid, which is thought to offer protection against cancer.

Fruit’s veritable cornucopia of nutrients does not just promise a lot, it delivers, too. A stack of research suggests that eating more fruit offers real protection from the major killers, and appears to extend our lives, to boot. One study published last year in medical journal The Lancet estimated that the additional vitamin C gained by consuming just an extra 50g of fruit each day would reduce the risk of death from all causes by an impressive 20 per cent. Freshly squeezed fruit juices are another option, though fresh fruit itself is generally better. —Dawn/The Observer News Service.