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The question

What are the most nutritious fruits to eat in winter?

The answer

It's true there is less variety of fresh fruit during the winter months. But the fruit that is in season is very nutritious. Winter is the time to be enjoying oranges and grapefruit, which are excellent sources of vitamin C, folate and phytochemicals linked to protection from certain cancers, heart disease and stroke. Pink and red grapefruit also contain lycopene, a phytochemical shown to guard against prostate cancer.



Another superfruit that you'll find in the produce section during the winter is pomegranate. Inside a pomegranate's red outer shell you'll see individual cells, separated by membranes, that contain glistening red seeds. Each seed is surrounded by a juice-filled sac (called an aril). Pomegranate seeds contain potent antioxidants called polyphenols.



It takes a bit of work to remove the seeds from a pomegranate but it's worth the effort. Start by cutting off the "crown," then score the outer layer of skin into sections. In a large bowl of water, break apart the sections along the score lines. Roll out the arils with your fingers. The arils will sink to the bottom while the white membrane floats to the top of the water. After skimming off the membrane, drain the water from the bowl or pour into a sieve. You can eat the arils whole, seeds and all. Or you might want to add the seeds to recipes. Sprinkle them over salads, breakfast cereal or a bowl of yogurt.



And don't forget about berries, which are packed with disease-fighting antioxidants. Even though they're not in season now, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries are available frozen year-round. Frozen fruit is just as nutritious as fresh. The fruit is usually frozen very soon after harvesting, so the vitamin and mineral content is preserved.



Bottom line: All fruit is nutritious - yes, even bananas (they're very high in potassium, a mineral that help keeps blood pressure in check). The key is to eat fruit every day to help increase your intake of fibre, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. It's not unusual for me to interview clients who eat little or no fruit. It seems that fruit is a food that many people are not in the habit of including in their diets.



Aim for three servings per day (one serving is one medium-sized fruit or one cup of chopped fruit.)

Send dietitian Leslie Beck your questions at dietitian@globeandmail.com. She will answer select questions, which could appear in The Globe and Mail and/or on The Globe and Mail web site. Your name will not be published if your question is chosen.

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