2. Try to eat plenty of fresh or tinned fruit and vegetables

Many people know they should be eating more fruit and vegetables. However, that does not mean they are doing so.

It is important for a healthy, well balanced diet, to have a minimum of five servings of a variety of fruit and vegetables daily. It might be easier than you think.

For example, it is possible to have:

Fruits and vegetables can be fresh, tinned, frozen, juiced or dried. Do not forget that potatoes are starchy foods, they do not count here as fruit and vegetable.

Fresh fruits and vegetables including aubergines, courgettes, avocado, tomatoes, peppers, onions, melons, oranges and peaches are an important part of the Mediterranean diet. This is great news as most fruits and vegetables are low in fat and high in fibre – both of which are important for a healthy heart and helping you to lose weight if necessary.

Fruit and vegetable are also good sources of antioxidant vitamins such as beta-carotene and vitamins C and E, which clean up harmful free radicals – molecules that can cause oxidation of LDL or bad cholesterol, which potentially speeds up the process of the narrowing of arteries.

Tomatoes in particular have been studied because they feature so heavily in Mediterranean dishes. Tomatoes are a good source of the antioxidant lycopene, which may be important for a healthy heart, as well as reducing the risk of some cancers. Cooking tomatoes helps the body to absorb lycopene more easily, with the result that tomato-based pasta dishes and pizzas are good choices.

Also read about Fruit Diet on : www.diethellas.com