Watermelons for sale at Arlington Heights Farmers’ Market.

UPDATE: LOCATION MOVED TO LARGER AREA AT VAIL AVENUE AND FREMONT STREET (6/2010)
Arlington Heights Farmers Market on Eastman
Location: Arlington Heights Road & Eastman (next to North School Park)

Time: 7:30 am – 1:30 pm
Saturdays

Farmers’ Market begins in June and continues through October (see more details on Grocers Card on Arlingtoncards.com)

For location details, check StreetsofArlington.com/farmersmarket …

Healthy food. Healthy eating. Get fresh fruits and vegetables at your grocer or at the Farmer’s Market in Arlington Heights. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables can help prevent heart disease and stroke, control blood pressure and cholesterol, prevent some types of cancer, avoid a painful intestinal ailment known as diverticulitis, and help prevent cataracts and macular degeneration, two common causes of vision loss. The average American gets about three servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Recent dietary guidelines recommend five to thirteen servings of fruits and vegetables a day, depending on total caloric intake. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can lower the risk of heart disease and stroke. Green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and mustard greens; cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, and kale; and citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit (and their juices) are the best for the cardiovascular system.

Help for high blood pressure. Researchers have found that people with hypertension who followed a DASH diet with fruits and vegetables reduced their systolic blood pressure (the first, upper BP number) by about 11 mm Hg and their diastolic blood pressure (the second, lower BP number) by almost 6 mm Hg.

Help for lowering LDL cholesterol. Men and women with the highest daily consumption of fruits and vegetables (more than 4 servings per day) had significantly lower levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol than those with lower consumption. How fruits and vegetables lower cholesterol has not yet been confirmed. Soluble fiber in fruits and vegetables might block the absorption of cholesterol from food in the intestines.

Help for vision. Dark green leafy vegetables contain two pigments, lutein and zeaxanthin, that accumulate in the eye tissue. These two carotenoid pigments appear to fight off free radicals before they can harm the eyes and cause cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. The free radicals that can cause eye damage are generated by sunlight, cigarette smoke, air pollution, infection, and metabolic chemical reactions in the eye tissue.

Help for your gastrointestinal tract. The bulking and softening action of insoluble fiber also decreases pressure inside the intestinal tract and may help prevent diverticulosis (development of tiny, easily aggravated pouches inside the colon) and diverticulitis (painful inflammation of these pouches).

Help prevent certain types of cancer. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables may also protect against certain cancers.
Don’t forget. Make sure your groceries include fresh fruits and vegetables.

For help with grocery shopping, check out Arlingtoncards.com/grocers

Red peppers for sale at Arlington Heights Farmers’ Market.

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