The Composition of Various Foods

The author is interested in the composition of various foods for health reasons. The author is trying to invent a diet for schizophrenia as well as to check out claims made by others for various health benefits.

Strawberries

This fruit tastes good and is economical. It has fiber as well as vitamins. It has no cholesterol nor bad fats. It is particularly good in vitamin C. The calories are modest because of the large water content. This is true of a lot of fruits and berries. It has very little protein and very little fat. The little fat that it does have is beneficial. I give strawberries an A grade. However, strawberry jam has more calories. The strawberries themselves are better for you than the jam.

Apples

This is another healthy food. Again there is fiber and no cholesterol. Apples have a beneficial fiber called pectin. Again there is a lot of water with little fat. There is only a trace of protein, which makes apples good for the PKU diet. The PKU diet is very low in protein.

There are polyphenols in the skin. These are considered to fight cancer. Do not throw away the skin. What little fat the apple has is mostly good. Saturated fats are bad, but apples have mostly unsaturated fats. Some of the fiber is in the peel, so eat the peel.

Like other fruits apples are low in sodium and good in potassium. Potassium is good for the heart. It is considered to lower high blood pressure.

The vitamin A is very small. Nevertheless I give apples an A grade.

Apple juice, although it tastes good, does not have the fiber that the apple has. Applesauce, although it tastes good, does not have the peel. Due to the tremendous variety of foods available, the author will not spend too much time on each food. Rather the author will try to maek generalizations about fruits, vegetables, etc. The general rule is that fruits are good. Fruit juices in general have little fiber and therefore aren't as good. Also the maker might add sugar to the juice. Fructose, which is found in fruit, is better than sucrose. Fructose only causes a slow rise in blood glucose.

According to the USDA data that I used, apples have small amounts of carotenoids, which are very valuable. These antioxidants fight against chronic diseases. Like flavonoids they are pigments. Beta-carotene is yellow, and is often found in yellow or orange fruits and vegetables. Carrots are an example as are sweet potatoes. There is no caffeine in apples.

Cantaloupe

The cantaloupe is related to the squash. Both are healthy. Like the apple it is mostly water and carbohydrates. It has little protein and little fat. What little fat is has is mostly polyunsaturated, which is beneficial. It has a lot more potassium than it has sodium, which means that it is heart healthy. It has no cholesterol.

The general rule is that only animal products contain cholesterol. However, some plants have a lot of saturated fat. This is not one of those plants. Palm kernel oil and coconut oil have too much saturated fat.

Conclusions

We have just scratched the surface of food biochemistry. All three fruits mentioned get an A. The cantaloupe is very good in vitamin A as one might guess from the color of the inside of the melon, which is yellow. Carotenoids are present. These carotenoids are considered very beneficail to the eye as well as to other organs. There is no caffeine in the cantaloupe.

In the future the author will continue to look at good foods, but he will also look at questionable foods. All three fruits discussed in this article are good in fiber. Fiber is considered good for the gastrointestinal tract as well as good because it slows down the rapid rise in blood sugar seen after injestion of glucose. Fructose can be converted to glucose, but this takes time. This is why fructose is valuable.

Although diseases have not been discussed in detail in this article, they are discussed in the bibliography. It is the author's view that a low protein diet may benefit schizophrenia. All three fruits discussed here are good for the author's diet to treat mental diseases.

Bibliography

1. www.associatedcontent.com/article/796059/a_scientific_hypothesis_for_schizophrenia.html

2. www.associatedcontent.com/article/792401/hypoglycemia_and_mental_illness.html

3. www.associatedcontent.com/article/782431/conquering_schizophrenia.html

4. www.associatedcontent.com/article/778443/super_nutrition.html

5. www.associatedcontent.com/article/772715/foods_that_heal_and_foods_that_harm.html