You will agree with us when we say most people do not know the benefits of locally-grown, garden-fresh produce. Even though we buy foods from food vendors, we are unaware of the health benefits of crispy veggies and fruits.
Imagine the flavors, nutrients, and other benefits we lose when we avoid garden-fresh produce by going for inorganic or processed foods. In this article, we will outline 10 proven health benefits you get by simply swapping your preserved food for locally grown farm-fresh foods and vegetables.
What Are Garden or Farm-Fresh Foods?
A garden-fresh food is freshly picked from the garden while crisp, healthy, and has no preservatives. In other words, they are not spoiled, dried, processed, or smoked.
Why Is It Important to Buy Fresh Foods?
If given newly picked mouth-watering strawberries directly from the garden and frozen watermelons from a food vendor, which one will you choose?
If asked, you will go for raw strawberries from the farm because all the nutrients and flavors are intact. So, eating newly picked foods from the garden has many benefits. Other than the high nutritional value, fresh foods such as those from Common Ground Producers and Growers provide the following benefits:
1. Enjoying Mouth-Watering Flavor
The number one reason we go for fruits is flavor. Garden-fresh veggies and fruits are full of flavor.
The aroma and natural substances from the fresh foods improve the taste of our meals. For example, we go for apples or watermelon because of the flavor. Also, the combination of fresh watermelon and cucumber is delicious, giving us a mouth-watering experience.
2. Lowers Your Blood Pressure
Fresh vegetables and fruits are beneficial to your heart. The fiber in them reduces your blood pressure and keeps your heart healthy. Besides that, they help improve blood cholesterol and reduce the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart failure.
3. Reduces the Risk of Cancer
Cancer is one of the major killer diseases globally. But it is controllable. The earlier, the better.
Include more vegetables, fruits, nuts, and legumes in your meals. They are rich in phytochemicals that act as antioxidants. Foods with antioxidants reduce the risk of developing cancer by protecting the cells.
4. Restores Mood
Many people suffer from depression and fatigue. Eating more processed foods triggers the effects of depression and fatigue.
Farm-fresh foods should be your option to reduce stress and fatigue. Veggies and whole fruits are fiber-rich foods. They lower the effect of depression and enhance your mood.
5. Improves Your Gut Health
Your colon is full of natural bacteria to improve digestion and metabolism. Some of these bacteria produce vitamins K and B to fight harmful bacteria and viruses.
Therefore, a vegetables and fruits diet are favorable conditions for good bacteria in the gut and improves your gut health. Also, it improves bowel movements hence reducing the risk of getting bowel cancer and diverticulitis.
6. Boosts Your Memory
Memory loss is a health challenge, especially for the elderly. Not only to seniors, but it can also happen to anyone due to many factors, including poor diet.
However, to prevent dementia and memory loss, nutrients like vitamins C, D, and E in fruits and vegetables are essential in your diet. Vitamins also nourish your skin and hair.
7. Controls Your Weight
Being overweight can lead to serious health issues like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even cancers. So, maintaining a reasonable weight lowers the risk. Eating processed foods or frozen foods will increase your weight because they are higher in calories. But vegetables and fruits are lower in calories but rich in fiber, unlike processed foods.
The fiber helps control your hunger by making you feel full for longer. The fiber-rich foods will help you shed and maintain a reasonable weight.
8. Safe for Consumption
Food handling is critical. Before it reaches the customer, the chance it has gone through many hands is higher, and the foods are stored longer before reaching you.
Often, food additives are preservatives added to keep the food fresh for longer. But buying from the farm is safe. It comes from the farm or grocery direct to you.
9. Enjoying a Relaxing Night
When was the last time you had a good sleep at night? You understand what we mean by a good sleep-peaceful, without disruption. Uncomfortable sleep may result from depression, fatigue, obesity, and unhealthy eating.
To have restful sleep, add more fiber-rich farm-fresh foods like kale, watermelon, and raw fruits to your meal. They will help you lower depression and fatigue. The fiber-rich diet keeps you full for longer, controlling your urge to eat more thus, you lower the risk of being obese.
10. Robust Bones and Teeth
Sufficient minerals like magnesium and calcium are crucial for strong bones and teeth. Foods like broccoli and cabbage are rich in calcium. Green veggies are rich in magnesium. They also help in fluid balance and transmission of nerve impulses.
Where to buy farm-fresh foods in Wichita?
Common Ground Producers and Growers are the top natural growers of fresh foods in Wichita, Kansas. We grow vegetables and fruits like watermelons, cucumber, onions, tomatoes, and many more. Since Common Ground is a farmers’ mobile market, we pick from the farm and deliver directly to you.
Conclusion
Farm-fresh foods have many health benefits. They are delicious, help us have a relaxing sleep, reduce the risk of heart disease, and boost our memory.
Now you know.
Think about adding locally grown farm-fresh foods to your menu and enjoy a mouth-watering experience.