If you live in the US, summer will soon be upon us, bringing with it a bounty of in-season produce. There’s no question that seasonal produce tastes better, but because it’s fresher that means it’s likely healthier too. When you purchase produce seasonally (and locally grown), its nutrients won’t have time to degrade like the same food left to sit in cold storage for days or weeks.
In the past, the primary measure of whether a person’s diet was healthy had to do with measuring food groups and nutrient intake. But recent research suggests that the purchase of seasonal and local foods should be added to algorithms used to evaluate how healthy a person’s eating patterns are.1
While many fruits and vegetables reach their peak during the summer months, there are several that taste best right now… during the month of June. Head out to your local farmer’s market with a basket or two in tow… and keep an eye out for these six foods that taste best in June:
1. Strawberries
Have you noticed “pick your own strawberry” signs popping up where you live? This means strawberries are ripe and ready. Strawberries are rich in vitamin C, manganese, potassium, and folate, along with anthocyanins, ellagitannins, flavonols, terpenoids, and penolic and ellagic acids, phytonutrients that have anti-inflammatory benefits.
In particular, the flavonoid fisetin in strawberries may kill breast cancer cells, while triterpenes in strawberries are known for their “immense” anti-inflammatory potential. In addition, women who eat more than three servings per week of blueberries and strawberries had a 32 percent lower risk of having a heart attack in one study.
The benefit was due to flavonoids in the berries known as anthocyanins, which are antioxidants that give these fruits their characteristic red and purple hues. Although strawberries are a valuable source of nutrition, do eat them in moderation.
They have about 7 grams of fructose per cup, and I recommend you restrict your fructose consumption to about 15 to 25 grams of fructose per day from all sources (stay at the lower end if you are overweight, diabetic, hypertensive, or taking a statin drug).
2. Asparagus
As a rich source of folate, a B vitamin that helps your body make dopamine, serotonin, and norephinephrine, asparagus is a “feel-good” veggie that may support your mood.
Asparagus is also high in glutathione, an important anti-carcinogen, and contains rutin, which protects small blood vessels from rupturing and may protect against radiation. Asparagus is also a good source of vitamins A, C, K and E, B-complex vitamins, potassium, fiber, and zinc.
