ripen after theyve been harvested but pears do and research from the university of innsbruck found that allowing pears to really ripen increases levels of certain antioxidants if you purchase pears that are firm store them at room temperature in a fruit bowl to speed up the process put them next to bananas which produce an ethylene gas that accelerates ripening to check if your pear is ready to eat press on the neck if it gives its ripe pair leafy greens with good fat in one study from ohio state researchers examined the absorption of several key antioxidants when men and women ate veggies with or without avocado when lettuce and spinach were paired with the healthy fat subjects absorbed over eight times more alphacarotene and 13 times more betacarotene which both help fight cancer and heart disease along with four times more lutein a nutrient linked to eye health so whether you whip veggies into a smoothie toss them on a salad or cook up some leafy greens be sure to add a good fat think avocado evoo nuts or seeds to get the most nutritional benefits heres how to get the most health perks possible from olive oil stock up on frozen blueberries fresh berries are fantastic but unfortunately you cant get highquality produce yearround and thats when frozen berries can be idealin a study from leatherhead food research scientists tested the nutrient levels in produce that had been sitting in a fridge for three days compared to their frozen equivalents surprisingly more nutrients were found in the frozen samples in fact in two out of three cases frozen produce packed higher levels of antioxidants including polyphenols anthocyanins lutein and betacarotene the conclusion freezing fruits and veggies doesnt make them inferior it actually helps them retain vital nutrients let garlic sit after you crush it if you enjoy cooking with garlic use this tip to make it even healthier after crushing let the garlic rest for a full 10 minutes research shows that this step helps the garlic retain more of its anticancer power than when you cook it immediately why crushing garlic releases an enzyme thats otherwise trapped in the cells of the plant this enzyme which helps boost levels of other healthpromoting compounds requires 10 minutes to peak so set a timer let your garlic do its thing 11 fresh fruit and veggie recipes for spring cynthia sass mph rd is healths contributing nutrition editor she privately counsels clients in new york los angeles and long distance cynthia is currently the sports nutrition consultant to the new york yankees previously consulted for three other professional sports teams and is board certified as a specialist in sports dieteticsthis article originally appeared on healthcom