The colour of summer

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They are packed with vitamins and minerals, have virtually no fat or cholesterol and are your best bet in summer. Fruits, yes. Indulge in them to feel and look great and keep yourself hydrated and replenished as the mercury rises …

Keeping a count of the number of servings of fruits you have each day is definitely a good way to ensure that you are meeting the standard dietary recommendation. You can even try colour coding. “Just include richly coloured fruits in your diet,” says Sharon Arora, dietician, G M Modi Hospital.

Each group provides a distinct nutritional benefit. Red fruits, for instance, are rich in the carotenoid lycopene; Red/purple, including red and blue grapes, blueberries, strawberries, plums and red apples, are loaded with powerful antioxidants that help delay cellular aging; Orange/yellow, including peaches and papaya, provide beta cryptothanxin, which may help prevent heart disease.

Mango

The king of fruits really doesn’t figure in the good books of those who are extremely calorie conscious. Most people wonder why do brands bother making mango juice with added sugar. But would you really mind a tasty fruit with just 65 calories (considering that an average mango weighs about 100 gm)? ... “Unless you are on a weight loss diet or suffering from diabetes there’s no reason to avoid it,” says Dr Saloni Kakkar, dietitian and nutritionist, Paras Hospital, Delhi. “You can always indulge yourself with two slices — that would be around 40-60 gm,” Kakkar further adds. The fruit is richest in beta-carotene i.e. vitamin A, essential for the eyes and the skin. Just half a mango a day can take care of your daily vitamin A needs! “And while vitamin A dominates the content of a mango, there’s potassium, vitamin C and fibre as well,” she adds. And if you don’t suffer from lactose intolerance having mango with milk is a better idea. Why? Mango may, at times, cause acidity and milk being alkaline in nature helps.

Watermelon

It’s red, juicy and a dieter’s delight. And here’s some good news for those 20% Indians, who according to the Indian Medical Association are anaemic: watermelon is also an excellent source of iron. So, if you don’t particularly like strawberries and citrus fruits (which are as iron-rich) feast on summer’s best treat — watermelon. “60-70% of it is water and rest is soluble fibre which is extremely good for the digestive system,” says Fahmina Anwar, team leader, nutrition & dietetics services at Artemis hospital, Gurgaon. Sweet melon, honeydew melon, or watermelon — the feast has just begun. The fruit also packs a lycopene punch. Lycopene, a potent scavenger of gene-damaging free radicals, is known to protect against prostate cancer as well as heart and lung disease. So, if you care for your heart, consider starting your day with a bowl of fresh watermelon.

Figs, peaches and plums

You had the dried variety in winters, but now you can treat yourself to fresh ones. Fibrous, they are also rich in potassium (a mineral which aids rehydration) as well as calcium and iron. Peaches have beta-carotene and vitamin C as well as fibre. Plums (purple and red) in addition contain anthocyanidins, potent antioxidant phytochemicals.

Papaya

This mouthwatering fruit is also irresistably healthy. Another rich source of beta-carotene, vitamin C and fibre, it also contains potassium and folate. “Papain, an enzyme found in papaya, is an excellent aid for digestion,” adds Anwar. Want to delay ageing? Thanks to its rich content of antioxidants, it helps you do that too, she adds.

Fresh juices or the fruit?

Agreed that it is easier to drink a glass of juice than to struggle with a bowl of fruits, but the answer, as you rightly suspected, favours the latter. “Eating fibre-rich fruits helps you feel full sooner and for longer — so you end up consuming fewer calories. Secondly, fruit juice is any day a more concentrated form of calories,” says dietician SharonArora. She instead recommends fresh lime water, green coconut water, and aam panna excellent thirst quenchers for summer. Avoid diuretics like coffee, tea and alcohol because they dehydrate the body easily.

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