Your parents told you to eat your vegetables as a child. You were ordered to “clean your plate” if you wanted any dessert. As an adult, your doctor, fitness coach and multiple health experts extol the virtues of eating lots of fruits and vegetables, and not so much processed food.
However, you can’t help but wonder, can natural, minimally processed foods like fruits and vegetables really make much of a difference in your life?
If they are so good for you, how come foods like asparagus and Brussels sprouts don’t taste anywhere near as wonderful as cheeseburgers and chocolate? If vegetables and fruits are supposed to be so great for overall health, why are there more pizza shops and fried chicken restaurants than fresh fruit and vegetable stands?
Have you ever asked yourself these questions? If so, you have unwittingly fallen prey to modern marketing messages by food manufacturers.
Just because something is prevalent does not mean it makes for the wisest choice.
In this report you will learn how to eat more fruit and vegetables every day. In the very next section, you will learn exactly why naturally nutritious vegetables and fruits are such an important part of a healthy lifestyle.
Why Fruit & Vegetables are So Important
The way the human body processes food has not changed for thousands of years. However, our predominant food supply has. With the advent of modern agricultural and food processing methods we have seen a lock-and-step increase in heart disease, cancer and other dangerous and deadly conditions.
That is because modern-day food is unfortunately highly processed. Salt and refined sugar, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and trans fats, preservatives, steroids and man-made chemicals are intentionally injected into most of the food you eat.
This is not done to make you healthier. It is simply done to make the food you eat last longer on store shelves, taste better, and to produce as addictive a product as possible.
Fresh vegetables and fruits (not fried or slathered inunhealthy dressing) have naturally healthy levels of the nutrients, minerals and vitamins your body needs. They do not contain the processed sugar, insanely high levels of salt, steroids, preservatives and other nutritionally bankrupt chemicals found in processed food.
Unfortunately, the fruits and vegetables that human beings once used to eat in abundance are now lacking in your diet. Your body still craves the same nutrition requirements it did when your ancestors were eating healthy foods.
However, if you continue to reward your hunger with too much unhealthy processed food, and not enough healthy fruits and vegetables, poor health and debilitating medical conditions will be your reward.
The fact that you are a product of nature, and fruits and vegetables are natural food sources, reveals why they are so important as a part of your healthy diet plan.
You could live the rest of your life in a rather healthy manner without a single teaspoonful of processed, refined sugar. Healthy levels of sodium are found in vegetables and fruits.
Processed food delivers incredibly high levels of salt and sugar, and this leads to an extremely elevated risk of contracting heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and several other unwelcome health conditions.
Many fruits and vegetables also have a high water content. The human body requires at least 1 gallon of water to be ingested each day to function properly. So simply by eating more fruits and vegetables you help properly hydrate your body.
Another important aspect of swapping out processed foods for vegetables and fruits has to do with how much you weigh. If you find it hard to lose weight and maintain a slim, trim, sexy figure, your diet is probably to blame. The last few decades the importance of nutrition as the major health factor has come to light.
As much as 65% or 75% of your health and physical fitness is dictated by your diet alone.
This means trading a bag of potato chips and a sugary sports drink for a handful of nuts and a glass of water or unsweetened tea during your next snack. Small moves like that begin to impact your health in a positive manner, immediately.
Fruits and vegetables are nutrient-rich, low in calories, and they make you feel full longer than unhealthy processed food.
This means you eat less, which lowers your chances of being overweight or obese. That is because vegetables and fruits are high in dietary fiber. Processed foods have little fiber, and tons of empty calories.
Fiber takes a long time for your body to process, which means 1 cup of broccoli will make you feel full faster and longer than 2, 3 or even 4 cups of processed sugar!
Now let’s take a look at exactly how much nutritionally healthy natural fruits and vegetables you should be eating.
How Much Fruit & Veg Do You Really Need?
Can too much of a good thing be a bad thing? Concerning eating fruits and vegetables, you really can’t eat too much. They are so full of fiber, nutrient-dense while being low in calories and carbohydrates, that you fill up quickly and simply can’t overeat these wonderfully nutritious foods.
That having been said, let’s look at what some important health and nutrition organizations have to say about daily fruit and vegetable requirements.
The British Nutrition Foundation
This UK government organization recommends that vegetables and fruits should be included at every meal and also at snack time. They first outlined the guidelines for smart eating in 1994. They named these recommendations “The Eatwell Plate” in 2007. They recommend that these foods “make up approximately one third of your total daily food intake.”
- 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day is recommended for adults.
The BNF describes a portion as 1 medium-sized piece of fruit. This could be an apple, pear or orange. Small fruits such as plums or apricots require 2 to constitute 1 portion. A portion of vegetables is usually between 3 and 4 heaping tablespoons.
You are aiming for about 80 grams (3 ounces) of fruits or vegetables per portion. Fruit or vegetable juices require 150 ml (5 ounces) to make 1 portion.
They point out that choosing from a wide variety of vegetables and fruits is the best way to ensure that you are getting all of the vitamins, nutrients and minerals you need to stay healthy. They recommend eating fruits and vegetables that are in season, as the fresher your food is, the healthier it is.
The BNF offers a free and wonderful resource for educating you on how many fruits and vegetables you should be eating on a daily basis. That free digital download is available at: https://www.nutrition.org.uk/attachments/article/720/Fruit%20and%20vegetables.pdf
The United States Department of Agriculture
The USDA released their 8th edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in 2015. This includes recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services in the US. This standard is published every 5 years, and can be found at http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/.
The USDA recommends consuming “more of certain foods and nutrients such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, and seafood.” They go on to suggest that their research shows a diet low in added “sodium (salt), saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, and refined grains” provides health benefits.
Specific guidelines used to be called MyPyramid, and are now referred to as the Healthy MyPlate. It is recommended that Americans fill “half your plate with fruits and vegetables.” Eight ounces of seafood consumption per week is recommended, as well as never skipping breakfast and increasing “consumption of plant foods (vegetables, beans and peas, whole grains, nuts and seeds)”.
The USDA does not speak in terms of serving size, as they state that “the number of cups of fruits and vegetables your family needs daily depends on caloric needs, which are determined by age, gender and activity level.”
However, it should be noted that 1/4 cup was the recommended serving size for one portion of fruits or vegetables back when the MyPyramid food guide was in effect.
This refers to chopped fruits and vegetables or juice made from those foods. It does not refer to fruit and vegetable drinks which have sugar and other unhealthy ingredients added. Make sure all your meals and snacks are made up of at least 50% fruits and vegetables and you will be on the right track.
Health Canada
Health Canada is the branch of the Canadian government tasked with recommending smart nutrition habits. They publish Canada’s Food Guide, which lists the types of food you should be eating, as well as serving sizes, depending on your age and sex.
- Adults 19 to 50 years of age should be getting between
- 7 and 10 servings of vegetables and fruit each day.
- If you are 51 years or older, 7 daily servings will suffice.
- Teens between 14 and 18 are recommended to eat 7 or 8 servings of vegetables and fruit each day, and children should be consuming between 4 and 6 servings daily.
Health Canada refers to 125 ml (1/2 cup) of frozen, canned or fresh vegetable or fruit juice as a single serving. A single medium-sized piece of fruit is recommended as 1 serving, as is 250 ml (1 cup) of salad or leafy raw vegetables.
Other modern countries and communities recommend similar daily requirements of vegetables and fruits as Health Canada, the BNF and the USDA. Be careful though, not all fruits and vegetable servings deliver the same nutritional value, which we will cover in the next section.
Why Not All Fruit & Vegetables are Good for You
We mentioned in the last section that juices made with fruits and vegetables containing sugar are not healthy for you. That brings to light the difference between healthy and unhealthy vegetables and fruits. If you coat your veggies in processed, enriched flour and deep-fry them, you are not creating a nutritious meal.
You should also choose raw greens and fruits whenever possible. Simply by heating fruits and vegetables, you remove a small amount of their nutritional value. When you eat food as close to its natural state as possible without tampering with it in any way, you receive the maximum value of the nutrients, minerals and vitamins it has to offer.
When purchasing any type of fruit or vegetable juice or smoothie, check the food label. Any ingredient which ends in -ose reveals the presence of processed sugar. If your smoothie or juice drink lists several hard to pronounce or confusing sounding ingredients, you should probably pass.
If you don’t buy fresh vegetables, choose frozen over canned. Canned goods often have high levels of sodium. When you order vegetables and fruits away from home, ask your waiter or chef about their quality and preparation. You may find that a healthy sounding restaurant dish is actually nothing more than unhealthy processed food.
Juice and vegetable beverages are safe and healthy when they contain nothing but natural ingredients. You should also remember that eating too many fruits and ignoring vegetables can cause you to gain weight.
Fruit tastes sweet and delicious because it contains natural sugars. So eating too much fruit could lead to weight gain, though you would have to consume quite a bit to trigger this effect.
Concerning Food Allergies
The most common food allergy is a sensitivity to peanuts. This can range from mildly frustrating to deadly in nature. Concerning fruits and vegetables, some find that they respond negatively to oranges and other citrus fruits. Some people discover that eating apples or celery is impossible.
Every human being is different. Some people simply cannot eat carrots, peaches or cherries without triggering an Oral Allergy Syndrome. You will have to experiment with different fruits and vegetables. Eat them in various combinations and alone. Try eating them raw, steamed and sautéed.
If you find that one particular food causes an allergic reaction, don’t worry. There are hundreds of nutritious and delicious fruits and vegetables that can replace the one that doesn’t sit right in your stomach.
