Health facts of fruits and veggies

Dieters can eat all the fresh fruits and vegetables, under a new system unveiled Monday by Weight Watchers.

The new Points plus System replaces Weight Watchers' Points plan, which has been used by tens of millions. According to Karen Miller-Kovach, the company's chief scientific officer, Weight Watchers wanted to reflect the latest nutrition science. The formula to calculate the new Points Plus values is based on the amounts of protein, fiber and fat in foods. She also said, it also factors in how hard the body has to work to process food into energy.

In the Points Plus system, a medium croissant with a pat of butter gets a 7, 3 oz of ham and one slice of whole wheat toast with a pat of butter gets a 6 where both breakfasts have 270 calories.

Miller-Kovach says, Fresh fruits and most veggies were given zero points so they would be more enticing since most Americans don't eat enough of them.

Tips for buying fruits

While shopping fruits from your grocer make sure that you are selecting the best ones so that you enjoy the fruit as well as save your money. Here are some tips which will help you to buy fresh fruits:

• Bananas should be free from blemishes, bruises and other injuries. Ripe bananas should be firm and bright yellow in color. Do not buy bananas which are overripe.

• While buying oranges, see to that it is bright orange in color, firm and heavy. Do not buy oranges which are light weight and having rough skin texture since it lacks flesh content and juice.

• Pineapples should have dark green leaves and must be heavy in size. Larger the fruit, more the edible flesh. It can be ripened quickly by making it stand upside down. Avoid pineapples which have discolored and decayed skin.

• Buy grapes which are bright colored and firmly attached to the stem. Do not buy soft or wrinkled grapes which are symptoms of decay.

• Lemons should have firm, smooth and lustrous skin. Smaller and firmer lemons give more juice than larger ones. Avoid lemons having dull yellowish color since they might have high acidity content.