Contribution of Fruits and Vegetables to Human Nutrition and Health

Abstract

Abstract This chapter highlights the nutritional aspects and phytochemical compounds of fruits and vegetables that confer human health benefits when they are consumed regularly. These diverse compounds include dietary fiber, several minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals, secondary metabolites that occur naturally in plants and confer biological activities that are able to modulate important cell pathways evidenced by in vitro, animal models, and human studies. Several noncommunicable diseases (such as cancer, obesity, cardiovascular, cognitive, skin, eyes, lung, and bone diseases) can be prevented by regular consumption of fruits and vegetables, based on the inverse relation between their consumption and the risk for developing the disease.