Eat Your Fruits and Vegetables!

on February 10, 2012 at 4:49 pm

Research has shown that eating a generous amount of fruits and vegetables may prevent certain types of cancers, decrease the risk of obesity, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, lower blood pressure, decrease the risk of eye problems (cataract and macular degeneration) and digestion issues, and helps to control appetite. I guess the old saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” actually has some truth!!

A current European study looking at the links between diet and disease showed that dying from heart attacks (Ischemic Heart Disease), which causes reduced bloody supply to the heart, is decreased in those people who consume generous portions of fruits and vegetables. Risks were reduced by 22% in people who consumed 8 or more portions of fruits and vegetables per day compared to people who ate 3 portions or less each day. Of course other factors may play a role as well. Usually people who are likely to eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables also tend to practice other healthy eating habits and lifestyle.

In addition to this, other studies show that fruits and vegetables containing alpha-carotene help protect against cancers, diabetes type 2, and chronic lower respiratory disease by functioning as an antioxidant which helps to protect against the growth of cancer cells. Yellow-orange and dark green vegetables are particularly high in alpha-carotene and help guard against lung cancer better than any other vegetable. The catch is, you need to consume more fruits and vegetables to get higher blood levels of alpha-carotene… so eat up!!

Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide:

It is recommended that Canadians eat 8-10 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. If you forget to eat them during the day, it is very hard to catch up at night. This is why it is important to incorporate fruits and vegetables into every meal and at snack time to ensure you get the best benefits from their nutrients.

You may be asking yourself, what is considered ONE serving? Here are some examples:

½ cup of: broccoli, peas, carrots, berries, or tomatoes

1 apple, a medium banana, orange, peach, pear, plum, a medium celery stick, or an ear of corn

1 cup raw romaine lettuce

*see the attached Food Guide for more examples of food servings.

Fruits and vegetables are also a good source of carbohydrates, fibre, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, magnesium, potassium and folate. To ensure you get plenty of different vitamins and minerals from your fruits and vegetables try to:

Choose at least one dark green vegetable each day (this includes broccoli, green peas, spinach, green beans, romaine lettuce, kale, turnip greens)

Choose at least one orange vegetable (sweet potato, squash, carrots, pumpkin, tangerines, apricots, mangoes)

Choose fresh fruits and vegetables rather than juice: It takes many pieces of fruit to make one cup of juice. Juice has high sugar content and does not fill us up. Think about it- one cup of orange juice requires around 3 large oranges… normally, we do not sit down and eat 3 large oranges in one serving. Eating one large orange will keep us fuller for longer than one cup of juice because it is a whole fruit and has fibre which helps keep us full.

Choose fruits and vegetables that are prepared with little or no added fats: it is good to add a little bit of fat to your vegetables, whether it be low fat dip or olive oil, since this helps our bodies absorb the fat-soluble vitamins. However, fat is high in calories and contributes to weight gain, so try to limit/portion the amount of fat added to your food.

Tips to increase fruit and vegetable intake:

To help you achieve 8-10 servings of fruits and vegetables each day, try the following tips:

Breakfast: add some berries to your cereal or oatmeal, or make a fruit smoothie with low fat milk. Try to add 2 servings of fruit at breakfast.

Lunch: try to include one vegetable serving by adding tomatoes and/or lettuce to your sandwiches or wraps, prepare carrot and pepper sticks as a side, have a low sodium vegetable soup, or eat a side salad. If you eat out a lot, try to aim for the “Healthy Plate” model: ¼ of your plate protein (meat), ¼ starch (potato, bread, pasta, rice), and ½ the plate vegetables (salad, veggie sticks etc).

Midday snack: have a fruit. Tangerines, apples, bananas, or pears are easy, portable options. Put a fruit bowl on your desk in your office. This way, the fruit is in sight and is an easy snack.

Dinner: try to include a minimum of 2 large vegetable servings. Use dark leaf lettuce and romaine (which are higher in carotenes) rather than ice burg lettuce. Try preparing quick cooking vegetables such as: kale, rapini, spinach, and green beans. You can grill eggplant, zucchini, asparagus peppers and onions on the bbq, or if you are really strapped for time, prepare some frozen vegetables which take no preparation time at all.

If preparing fruits and vegetables is just too time consuming and tedious for you, try purchasing ready to go, pre-washed, pre-portioned or packaged items (i.e. broccoli florets, carrot sticks, pre-washed salads), or buy a veggie platter and portion it out for the week.