Nutritional Quality of Fruits and Vegetables

VICENTE AR, MANGANARIS G, SOZZI GO, CRISOSTO CH

Postharvest Handling, 2nd edition, edited by W.J. Florkowski, R. Shewfelt, B. Brueckner and S. Prussia

Elsevier Science

Año: 2009; p. 58 - 106

Horticultural crops are considered main components of a healthful diet. The constituents obtained by the human body from fruits and vegetables include water, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, fiber, minerals, organic acids, pigments, vitamins, and antioxidants among others. Fruits and vegetables, especially, are considered a good source of fiber, selected minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. Most fruits and vegetables are available almost year-round in a large variety and they not only taste good, but they also have favorable attributes of texture, color, flavor, and ease of use. They can be used fresh, cooked, hot or cold, canned, pickled, frozen or dried. Fruits and vegetables are consumed at all times and, especially, due to their convenient size, are also an excellent between-meal snack. They are relatively low in calories and fat (avocado and olives being the exceptions), they have no cholesterol, they are rich in carbohydrates and fiber, they contain vitamin C, carotene and, some of them, are a good source of vitamin B6. Fruits and vegetables are relatively low in sodium and high in potassium. Ascorbic acid in fruits and vegetables enhances the bio-availability of iron in the diet. Due to all these characteristics, fruits and vegetables have a unique role in a healthy diet. A growing body of research has shown that fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with reduced risk of major diseases, and possibly delayed onset of age-related disorders, promoting good health. However, in many cases fruit and vegetable consumption is still below the dietary guideline goal of consuming 5-10 servings each day. The nutritional value of fruits and vegetables depends on their composition, which shows a wide range of variation depending on the species, cultivar and maturity stage. Because the composition of fruits and vegetables includes a great number of metabolites, it could be predicted that no single commodity might be rich in all these constituents. This chapter describes the general characteristics of the components of fruits and vegetables, related to their benefits as food sources.