The colour of summer

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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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