Eating fruit may give bodily health more than one boost

Consuming a healthy diet based primarily on fruits and vegetables can encourage the body to burn its excess fat deposits, a process that may lead to weight loss while suppressing cravings.

However, the physical benefits of eating produce do not stop at a slimmer waistline and healthier body mass index. A wealth of studies have shown that eating more fruit can decrease the likelihood of cancer, heart disease, obesity and stroke, while improving vascular flexibility.

It's little wonder that health authorities like the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend eating at least four and a half cups of fruit or vegetables each day.

The HSPH goes so far as to suggest that each meal or platter one eats should be at least half-filled with produce. This ratio may seem difficult to adhere to, particularly at breakfast, a meal that may seem hard to pack with vegetables.

This is where fruit may help. While some breakfast foods naturally lend themselves to the addition of veggies - like omelets and other egg dishes - many do not. Since including vegetables in a morning meal of cereal, toast, pancakes or waffles may sound peculiar, fruit can be used instead to supplement or even replace these foods.

The HSPH recommends eating fruits of all types and colors, since their different hues indicate the presence of a number of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Recent research backs up this suggestion, and several studies have shown that eating specific fruits may prevent or reduce the risk of some common health conditions.

A report published in the journal Diabetes found that consuming a compound called nobiletin, found in the peels of citrus fruits like oranges and tangerines, may lower an individual's likelihood of developing obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis.

In the study, scientists fed laboratory rodents nobiletin as part of a high-fat diet. The team discovered that the substance appeared to prevent the animals from having high cholesterol and triglyceride blood levels. Likewise, these rodents did not become obese, unlike those that were not fed nobiletin.

Another study conducted at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center found that individuals who ate freeze-dried strawberries for six months displayed decreased levels of biomarkers associated with the risk of esophageal cancer.

Even putting all these potential health benefits aside, consuming more fruit each day - as a snack, as a side dish or even as a meal - can result in the sort of efficient and lasting weight loss that many dieters are looking for.