Our team at AFC Urgent Care Ooltewah wants you to know that when you purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from a local farmers market, not only are you benefiting the community’s economy, but you are also helping your health! Go Local! When was the last time you visited the Ooltewah Farmers Market? Next time you are in or around the Ooltewah Nursery and Landscape Co. on a Thursday, you might want to make time to stop by. Here’s why! Everyone has grown up knowing that fruits and vegetables are a part of the food pyramid, which means they are essential to our daily diet. In fact, most medical professionals recommend consuming at least five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Therefore, since your family’s favorite fruits and vegetables need to be on your grocery list every week anyways, why not skip the grocery store and shop at the local farmers market instead? When you decide to purchase fruits and vegetables locally, you are helping the environment, the economy and your health! Because the locally grown fruits and vegetables are at their freshest, that means the foods are more nutritious. But how? When fruits and vegetables are picked, they begin to lose their nutritional value. While this doesn’t mean what you buy on the produce aisle of the grocery store has no nutritional value, the local, fresh fruits and vegetables just have more of nutrients like vitamins A, B, C and E than those that have been transported to a grocery store. In addition, exposure to the air and temperature changes can also deplete some of the nutritional value of the foods. Therefore, when you purchase at a local farmers market, you are buying fruits and vegetables at their peak of nutritional value—allowing you to get more bang (or should we say nutrition?) for your buck! So it’s a win-win for your finances and your health. Are you feeling under the weather and think your diet might be to blame? Visit AFC Urgent Care Ooltewah to undergo lab work to see if your blood levels indicate a vitamin deficiency.