Colorful Gardens Can Make Health Grow

Friday, March 1, 2002

(NAPSA)—Gardening can be good exercise and an added bonus is that the fruits of your labor can help you stay healthy. Studies show that brightly colored fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and antioxidants which are good for your health. Make sure your garden is chock-full of colorful fruits and vegetables. Here are > 4 a i Ae Fy a 6 a e ‘ a S/n yy ry ie) ‘ - Gt i iit “A iz { ‘ i ie ao \ e Fs -*" a5 eS der A| he y v ‘, ij y “i - _ d i r a Ke r i “ * yt Uy 1 | 1 a few tips for planting a colorful garden: Good Health Grows On Vines—Include red tomatoes when you plant. Tomatoes are relatively easy to grow and they contain an antioxidant called lycopene. Lycopene has been shown to help reduce the risk of prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease. That’s significant because prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men, and a person dies from cardiovascular disease every 33 seconds in the U.S. Lycopeneis easily absorbed by eating fresh tomatoes or tomato-based products such as tomato sauce. e Aw Shucks!—Grow yellow corn in your garden. Corn con- tains a powerful antioxidant called zeaxanthin. Zeaxanthin has been shown to reduce the risk of eye diseases such as cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (AMD)—the two leading causes of blindness in the United States. It’s estimated one in every six EZ oy Yigg :DR rr = Pee oT) An antioxidant found in tomatoes called lycopene has been shown to help reduce prostate cancer and cardiovascular diseaserisk. Americansover the age of 40 have cataracts. Additionally, over oneand-a-half million people over age 50 have AMD. e It’s Easy Being Green—Grow green kale or spinach in your garden. These vegetables are simple to grow and contain an antioxidant called lutein. Similarly to zeaxanthin, lutein is thought to help prevent eye disease. In fact, studies including the Eye Disease Case Control Study and the Third National Health Examination Survey, found people with the highest amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin in their diets had the lowest risk for AMD.

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