North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

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> Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:14:02 -0400
> From: "Alan Haigh" <alandhaigh@gmail.com>
> Subject: [NAFEX] most nutritious fruit
> To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
> Message-ID:
>         <1f544d60806141614sc413db6i2014a383ac4abec8@mail.gmail.com>
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>
> I just spent a half an hour trying to find an old copy of a comparative list
> of nutrients in temperate fruit but failed.  I believe I copied it from an
> old issue of Pomona to use as a handout in a home orchard class.  I remember
> that while kiwis were impressive it was black currants that were by far the
> richest in nutrients.  Very high concentrations of potassium and vitamin C
> and A were among its assets.  I  expect that anti-oxidant flavinoids would
> be off the charts as well.  I doubt kiwis are nearly as rich in flavinoids-
> not enough color.
>
> Apricots are by far the richest temperate fruit in carotene, therefor
> vitamin A- I believe mangoes are comparable in this regard.  Papayas also.
> I'm sure there are lesser know tropical fruits with a high level of vitamins
> and flavinoids.

You can look up the nutritional values for many foods (as determined  
by the USDA) at
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

A quick search indicates that cantaloupe has quite a bit more vitamin  
A than apricots?..~75% more on a per gram basis, and more than twice  
as much on a per calorie basis.

> Supposed to have at least 10 times the vit C that an orange has.
> Topgun

According to the USDA database, Kiwi has about 50% more vitamin C than  
navel oranges on a per gram basis, and about 25% more on a per calorie  
basis.  Kiwi also has at least 10 times the vitamin E content.   
Someone else raised the issue of availability, saying that the E is  
concentrated in the seeds.  I can assure you that 2 year olds cannot  
digest the seeds ?

The database does not include many of the minor fruits ( paw paw,  
aronia, goumi etc.), nor does provide data about flavanoids.  In any  
case, it?s a good resource for quantitative information if you want to  
make your own evaluation of how ?healthy? a food is.

Re: the original poster, a google news search does not bring up any  
recent articles about this study?.do you have any other information?

Alex


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