Did You Reach the Minimum Daily Recommended Fruit Intake Today? Here Are Eight Fruits Experts Recommend That You Will Enjoy

Did you meet your minimum daily fruit intake today?  Or even yesterday… or last week?
Come to think of it, do you even know what the guidelines for fruit and vegetable intake are?
According to the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, prepared by the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, adults should consume 1.5-2 cup- (3.75 ml-500 ml)-equivalents of fruits and 2–3 cup- (500 ml to 750 ml)-equivalents of vegetables daily.
All dietary experts agree that a healthy diet supports proper immune function and helps prevent obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and some forms of cancer.  Having some of these conditions can predispose an individual to severe illness and even death.
Wild blueberries, cherries, apple, pear, melon, and strawberries, among other fruits in this fruit bowl
While all fruits are considered healthy, it pays to be selective and choose the fruits with specific nutritional profiles that meet your personal dietary and health requirements.
Here are our expert recommendations:
1.)       Blueberries
Wild blueberries have a higher antioxidant capacity, more fiber, less sugar, more iron, more manganese, and a more intense concentration of bioactive plant compounds than ordinary blueberries do, but if you can’t go pick them in the wild, store-bought organic blueberries will do quite nicely.
Blueberries have substantial fiber that keeps one’s belly fuller for longer.  They also rank among the fruits and vegetables with the highest antioxidant content, which will prevent or at least delay cell damage.  They also have cardiovascular and cognitive benefits.
2.)       Apples
Apples are also rich in antioxidants. Look for the darker colored varieties such as Fuji and Red Delicious.  This fruit has vitamin C and fiber, found mostly in the skin, and pectin, a fiber that acts as a prebiotic to aid digestion and colon function .
Apples also contain quercetin, a flavonoid with antioxidant properties that may reduce cardiovascular disease risk and protect against allergies because it acts as a natural antihistamine.
3.)       Strawberries
The strawberry is high in vitamin C, which helps support the body’s immune system.  Each piece of fruit contains manganese, folate, and potassium.
4.)       Plums
Plums contain antioxidants such as anthocyanins and quercetin, which appear to reduce the risk of heart disease.  They are also high in fiber, which can help regulate bowel movements.  They are ideal for people with diabetes given that they are low in sugar and have a low glycemic index.
5.)       Oranges
Oranges are widely grown in tropical and subtropical climates for their sweet fruit and an orange contains 92% of one’s minimum daily vitamin C requirement, although some nutritionists , including Stanley J. Gewirtz believe that the minimum is insufficient.  Oranges are also an excellent source of folate, which can play a role in helping to prevent cardiovascular disease, infertility, stroke, dementia, colon cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease.
6.)       Cherries
Cherry trees, known for their great beauty both when blossoming and bearing fruit, similar to most temperate-latitude trees, require a certain number of chilling hours each year to break dormancy and bloom and produce fruit.
Sweet cherries provide little nutritional content but do have dietary fiber, vitamin C (6% of the minimum daily requirement), and vitamin A (0.2% of the daily requirement) while sour cherries have twice as much vitamin C and 20 times the amount of vitamin A including beta-Carotene.
Despite the low nutritional value, we included them on this list because they are delicious.  Red cherries have a sweet taste with notes of berry and almond, while black cherries offer a tarter flavor that is slightly smoky
7. and 8.) Blackberries and Raspberries
Many people don’t realize the close familial relationship between blackberries and raspberries.  What distinguishes the blackberry from the raspberry is whether or not the torus picks with the fruit. When picking a blackberry, the torus stays with the fruit. With a raspberry, the torus remains on the plant, leaving a hollow core in the raspberry.
Blackberries are rich in dietary fiber, manganese, vitamin C, and vitamin K, at 31%, 25%, and 19% of the daily recommended requirement of the last three nutrients respectively.
Raspberries are a rich source of vitamin C, manganese, and dietary fiber, with 32%, 32%, and 26% of the daily recommended requirement respectively.  They are a low-glycemic index food with sugar content of only 4% and no starch whatsoever.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)