We eat fruits to fill vitamin and mineral deficiencies. We can also get essential vitamins and minerals from vegetables. But many important vitamins and minerals are lost during cooking of vegetables. Since the fruit is not cooked, all the nutrients are available.

Recently a news has been published that the country imports foreign fruits worth 18 thousand crore rupees every year. Most of which consists of apples, malta and grapes. Apart from this, pomegranate, pear, berry fruits are also imported. But local fruits also have a lot of vitamins and minerals. Eating foreign fruits by spending more money does not mean that you will get more nutrition. If the quality of foreign fruits is compared with native fruits, then it becomes clear.

Nutritional value of apples (per 100 grams)

Carbohydrates 14g, Sugar 10g, Fat 0.2g, Protein 0.3g, Fiber 2.4g, Iron 0.12mg, Vitamin C 4.5mg, Magnesium 5mg, Potassium 107mg, Calcium 6mg , vitamin A 3 IU, carotene 27 IU, vitamin K 2.2 IU.

Nutritional value of guava (per 100 g)

Carbohydrates 14g, Sugar 8.9g, Fat 0.95g, Protein 2.5g, Fiber 5.4g, Iron 0.26mg, Vitamin C 228mg, Magnesium 22mg, Potassium 417mg, Calcium 18mg , vitamin A 31 IU, carotene 374 IU, vitamin K 2.2 IU.

Nutritional value of grapes (per 100 grams)

Carbohydrates 18.1g, Sugar 15.8g, Fat 0.16g, Protein 0.72g, Fiber 0.9g,

Iron 0.36 mg, Vitamin C 3.2 mg, Magnesium 7 mg, Potassium 191 mg, Calcium 10 mg, Vitamin A 31 IU, Carotene 374 IU, Vitamin K 14.2 micrograms.

Nutritional value of jackfruit (per 100 grams)

Carbohydrates 19g, Fat 0.64g, Protein 1.72g, Fiber 1.5g, Iron 0.20mg, Vitamin C 13.8mg, Magnesium 29mg, Potassium 448mg, Calcium 24mg, Vitamin A 5 micrograms, carotene 61 micrograms, vitamin K 24.2 IU.

It turns out that apples and guavas are equally nutritious. In some cases, guavas are more nutritious than apples. Again, grapes and jackfruit or banana are equally nutritious. It is possible to buy four to five kg of guava for the price of one kg of apple. It is possible to buy about 40 large bananas or two-three large jackfruits for the price of one kilogram of grapes. Apart from this, other native fruits like mango, papaya, amra, grapefruit, jamrul, amlaki are also full of nutrients.

Foreign fruits cannot be eaten fresh. Preservatives are used for preservation, which may be unhealthy. In our country also some chemicals are used for ripening of fruits in addition to food adulteration. Excessive use of chemicals poses health risks. Be careful in this case.

Md. Iqbal Hossain, Senior Nutrition Officer, Chittagong Diabetic General Hospital