7 summer foods you shouldn't miss: Slideshow

Corn

Nutritional punch: It’s often maligned for being starchy, but corn is a whole grain that can reduce the risk of stroke, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

One-half cup of raw kernels, slightly less than a medium ear, is 66 calories and provides 2.1 grams of fiber. One-half cup cooked is 88 calories with 2.3 grams of fiber. Corn also contains some B vitamins, including folate, that help the body produce energy, as well as vitamin C and phosphorus.

The bran component of corn contains a cornucopia of compounds, including ferulic acid, that act as antioxidants. These potent compounds also protect the heart and help maintain your vision.

Cooking corn activates its disease-fighting compounds, studies show.

Cherries

Nutritional punch: One cup, about 17 cherries, is 87 calories and provides 2.9 grams of fiber. They’re loaded with beta-carotene, a carotenoid that turns into the usable form of vitamin A in the body and can protect your heart and vision. A one-cup serving also gives you 26 percent of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C, as well as manganese, which helps form cartilage that lays the foundation for bones and skin, and potassium, which blunts the effects of a high-sodium diet.

Cherries are most notable for their heart-healthy phytochemicals, also known as flavonoids, which can lower heart disease risk.

Preliminary animal studies have shown that cherry-enriched diets can boost immunity and reduce the risk for the flu and other respiratory infections, lower cholesterol, reduce inflammation, and reduce risk factors for type 2 diabetes.

Blueberries

Nutritional punch: One cup of raw blueberries is 84 calories and boasts 3.6 grams of fiber, specifically pectin, a soluble fiber that helps lower cholesterol and possibly protect against cancer. Blueberries are also rich in vitamin K (important for bones), manganese and the antioxidant vitamin E.

Blueberries contain anthocyanins, antioxidant pigments that give blueberries their blue hue and have been shown to promote a healthy vascular system and fight inflammation.

Okra

Nutritional punch: One cup of cooked okra packs in as much fiber as a bowl of oatmeal. One cup boiled and sliced has 35 calories, 4 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein. “The unique combination of fiber and protein make okra particularly satiating,” says Jackson Blatner. Okra is also chock full of vitamins and minerals, including 80 percent of the daily allowance of vitamin K, as well as vitamins C and B6 (important for energy production).

Strawberries

Nutritional punch: One cup of strawberries contains 46 calories, 2.9 grams of fiber, and 50 percent more vitamin C than you need in a day. Other notable nutrients include manganese, folate (important to protect against birth defects and promote heart health), and vitamin B6, an energy booster.

Strawberries overflow with phytochemicals, including flavonoids (such as anthocyanins, antioxidants that give them their ruby red color) and ellagic acid, a phenolic compound (also found in blueberries, raspberries, and other plant foods) shown in laboratory and animal studies to have anti-cancer properties. Recent animal studies suggest that strawberries may protect and maintain your cognitive function by enhancing learning and memory in aging animals.

Eggplant

Nutritional punch: One cup cubed and cooked provides 35 calories and 2-1/2 grams of fiber. Eggplant also contains several vitamins and minerals including potassium, manganese, copper, and the B vitamins thiamin, vitamin B6 and folate.

Eggplant boasts a variety of important phytonutrients believed to have antioxidant properties. These include several compounds that may protect against cancer and microbes such as bacteria and viruses.

Recent research found an anthocyanin unique to eggplant peels that appear to protect the heart.

Tomatoes

Nutrition Perks: This fruit, which acts like a vegetable, can brag about its long list of nutrients. One cup raw (chopped or sliced) contains 32 calories
and 2.2 grams fiber. One cup cooked has 43 calories and 1.7 grams of fiber. Tomatoes are packed with almost a day’s worth of vitamin C, as well as vitamin A, beta-carotene, potassium, vitamin K, manganese, chromium and other minerals.

Cooking tomatoes unleashes lycopene, a potent phytochemical that acts as an antioxidant to ward off some cancers (including prostate cancer). Recent research suggests that lycopene may also benefit bones by reducing fracture risk.