What are the Healthiest Fruits?

There are a few standby rules to consider when choosing healthy fruit at the market. Any fresh fruit tends to be superior to canned fruit. Canned fruit is often packed in sugar syrup, and even when packed in juice, it often is peeled resulting in less healthful fruit servings. Further, eating any kind of fruit is definitely healthier than eating no fruit at all. So even if your favorites don’t make the list of most nutritious, they’re still likely to be quite good for you.

By many standards, the healthiest fruit available is the guava, which may not be so easy to find. Actually, it’s easier than most people think. Many people grow ornamental guavas and forget the fruits falling off the bushes are actually edible. The guava is low in calories, high in fiber, and chock full of vitamin C, and carotenoids.

Another very healthy fruit is watermelon, which is often much easier to find. Two cups of watermelon can be a filling treat. Again, watermelon is low in calories, contains 100% of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) recommended values of carotenoids and Vitamin C and about 25% of the USDA recommendations for dietary fiber and potassium.

Grapefruit, kiwis, and papayas are all healthy fruit, as well. A healthy fruit like cantaloupe will provide lots of vitamins A and C, and dried apricots are a terrific source of fiber. Blueberries are chock full of antioxidants, but strawberries, which are less expensive and easier to find are actually even better. Tangerines are a very healthy fruit, offering a good mix of carotenoids, fiber, Vitamin C, and potassium.

If you’re looking for certain nutritional values in your fruit, fruits can be evaluated by highest in a category. For instance, the healthy fruit highest in fiber tends to belong to the berry category, particularly raspberries and blackberries. Grapes are highest in potassium per serving. Most melons and guava are examples of healthy fruit because they provide one with lots of carotenoids. Melons are also high in Vitamin C, but so are oranges and most berries.