Dragon fruit is also known as pitaya and is a member of the cactus family and is grown primarily in Southeast Asia and Central and South America. It has a red, white, yellow leathery skin and contains hundreds of tiny black edible seeds with a mildly sweet flavor. If you give dragon fruit a good squeeze and it gives a little it is ready to eat!

You can slice all the way through dragon fruit to separate the halves and scoop out the “flesh” from the skin. You can slice the flesh and eat it all by itself or in cereal, fruit salad, or even smoothies. Dragon fruit is a great source of lycopene which is a non-provitamin A carotenoid that promotes good oral and bone health. It is also high in vitamin C, a well-known antioxidant to protect the body from cancer causing free radicals.

Dragon fruit is part of the fruit group on MyPlate. Fruits are very important to eat in our diet as they can lower the risk of heart disease, lower blood cholesterol levels, and maintain healthy blood pressure levels. Fruits also contain many essential nutrients like potassium, fiber, folate and are low in fat, sodium, and calories. Here is a fun way to incorporate dragon fruit and more fruit into your diet for all the health benefits!

Stunning Dragon Fruit Salad

Our next food in our “Eating the Alphabet” journey is cherries! Cherries are a sweet food and part of the fruits food group. There are lots of ways to eat cherries! They are available fresh, frozen, canned, and dried. When looking for the best cherries, you should look for firm and red cherries with the stem still attached to them. Cherries are also very nutritious. They are fat free and sodium free and are a great source of vitamin C. These are all aspects that are very important for having a healthy diet.

Here is a fun recipe for cherries:

Blueberries are one of the most commonly known fruits. As a fruit, blueberries provide our bodies with many nutrients including potassium, fiber, vitamin C, and folate. These nutrients are essential for our bodies and help keep us healthy by growing and repairing our body tissue, reducing blood cholesterol levels, maintaining healthy blood pressure levels, and ensuring proper bowel function. Many people classify blueberries as a superfood since they provide so many important nutrients!

There are a variety of ways that one can enjoy blueberries. You can have them as they are, dried, frozen, in drinks, in smoothies, baked into foods, and many other ways! Here are some fun ways to incorporate blueberries in your diet:

Have you ever heard of a “good” fat? Well, avocados are full of them! This fruit is packed with monounsaturated fats along with many vitamins such as vitamins C, B6, E, K, and folate. Avocados are also free of cholesterol. Avocados only begin to ripen once they are picked, however, sometimes the ripening process may take a couple of days. To speed up ripening, you can put your avocado in a brown paper bag. Interestingly, adding an apple or tomato will also make the process even quicker.

Avocados can be eaten in so many ways, such as on a sandwich or toast, in soups and chilis, in tacos and wraps, or in dips such as guacamole. They are eaten all around the world as a savory ingredient, and in some parts of the world they’re added to smoothies and ice creams as a dessert. Avocados add a creamy texture you won’t usually find in smoothies. Try this avocado smoothie recipe below:

Many desserts contain copious amounts of sugar and fat. While both of those things are delicious, they are known to contribute to heart disease. Fear not, there are still ways to enjoy something sweet after a meal while being heart healthy. This includes limiting sugar and fat and increasing the number of fruits, vegetables, and fiber. Below are a couple recipes that are heart healthy AND delicious!

With summer slowly coming to an end, you might find yourself with some extra watermelon that needs to be used up. Watermelons are large and sometimes you do not know what to do with it all. There are many different things you can do to enjoy this juicy fruit. We don’t want to waste such a great source of Vitamins A and C, potassium, and amino acids. The recipes below are super easy and will help spice up the way that you enjoy this summertime fruit!

Lead exposure to children can lead to various health complications. However, many parents do not realize exactly how their children are exposed to lead in their daily lives. The most common source of lead exposure occurs in homes that were built before 1978. In those homes, lead-based paint was often used along with lead water pipes. Today, lead is still found in many toys and jewelry. Since it is so likely that a child will face exposure at some point in their life, it is important for parents to understand the symptoms, testing process, as well as ways to lower their child’s lead levels.

Because children often will not present with symptoms of high lead levels, you should have your doctor order a blood test for your child if you believe that they may have significant exposure to lead. Health effects of lead exposure include brain and nervous system damage, slow development, learning and behavior problems, and hearing and speech problems.

To lower your child’s blood levels, the first thing you should do is plan with your doctor to assess their developmental progress. Then, you should determine the source of lead exposure. By doing both of these things, you will be able to prevent further exposure and identify early indicators of high lead levels. The best way that a parent can reduce blood lead levels in their child is by changing their diet. Introducing a diet high in iron, calcium, and vitamin C helps to lower blood lead levels.

Here is a list of food/ingredients that would be beneficial to include in your diet!

• Calcium: Milk, yogurt, cheese, leafy green vegetables (spinach, kale, broccoli, etc.)
• Iron: lean red meats, beans, peanut butter, most cereals
• Vitamin C: oranges, green and red peppers, 100% fruit juice

Written By: Sierra Troutman

Sources: https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/overview.html

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/prevention/health-effects.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/docs/5things-508.pdf