Listen to your mom: "Eat your Fruits and Vegetables!"

Most everyone knows that eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables in a day can help you live a longer, healthier life. The phytonutrients, minerals and fiber that you get from both fruits and vegetables are essential to keeping your body healthy, strong and free of diseases and potential cancers. In fact, if any of you watched 60 minutes last Sunday night, you would have heard of a new drug that may be produced called "reversatrol". This drug apparently claims to increase lifespan and reduce risk for heart disease and even cancer. Reversatrol is found in the skin of red grapes (also of course in red wine).


What if I take a vitamin, do I still need fruits and vegetables?
Many, many studies show lots and lots of benefits to eating a variety of both fruits and vegetables. However, not many (if any) studies show the same level of health benefits to consuming vitamins over your veggies and fruits. Reduced risk for colon cancer comes from consuming cruciferous vegetables, not just a b-complex vitamin. Heart disease risk is lowered substantially if you eat 1 mixed green salad each day (light on the dressing, no extra cheese or croutons, sorry :). However, a "fruit and vegetable concentrate" has not been shown to produce the same effects. There is no secret here, the best source is from what God produces, not man.

I hear that I shouldn't eat fruit because it makes me fat!
I love black and white statements! :) If that were true, I wouldn't have been able to lose 20lbs of bodyfat in 2 months eating 2 bananas each day! The reality is, fruits are a very essential part of your diet. Yes, fruits do contain more sugar (fructose) than many other types of whole foods. However, these fruits are so jam-packed with phytonutrients that your body will make good use of the nutrients. As long as you keep your diet balanced with lean proteins, quality carbohydrates, dairy and vegetable sources in addition to the fruits, your body will greatly appreciate you!

How much fruit should I have in a day?
The "how much" question always produces a "it depends" response. This depends on your gender, weight, activity level, and most importantly your goals (weight loss, weight gain, stay the same, etc). However, general guidelines recommend 3-5 servings each day. A serving for fruit is typically 1. Like an orange, an apple, a banana, etc. However, if you were to consume berries, a typical serving size for berries is 1/2 cup. Dried fruit also counts, but again be aware of your portion size here: 1/4 cup (the size of the small kid-sized raisin boxes). Dried fruit can add calories to your diet quickly because it is so concentrated, so try to use it as a topping/garnish instead of a stand-alone snack.
Also, variety is key when it comes to your fruit servings. Each fruit has a mega-punch of a certain spectrum of vitamins and minerals and if all you eat each day is one type of fruit, your body will only absorb a small amount of all the vitamins and minerals it really needs. So, instead of eating 3 apples each day, try 1 apple, 1 peach, and 1 orange.
One of the best ways to get all of your fruits in each day is to have a fruit smoothie (try breakfast-time). Try mixing 3 different types of fruits (example: orange, pear, strawberries) in a blender with some vanilla yogurt, milk (or water depending on calorie demands) and vanilla protein powder (Nutrilite vanilla whey works great! :-). This will give you all your fruit for the day, 1/3-2/3 (depending on milk use) of your dairy for the day and give you some good protein. It's a great way to get the nutrients your body needs quickly and it's also a quick breakfast for you folks who can't seem to make time for breakfast!

Okay, so how about vegetables?
The vegetables you consume should be non-starchy. I generally categorize starchy vegetables (like potatoes and corn) in with "carbohydrates" since that is basically what they are. However, non-starchy vegetables have very little carbohydrates at all, leaving these types of foods with hardly any calories at all. This means you can virtually eat til your heart's (or stomach's) content of the non-starchy vegetables and you won't be threatening yourself with weight gain (now, don't try to go prove me wrong by buying 10 bags of carrots and eating them all in one sitting, yuck!:)
Non-starchy vegetables include: Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, also all green leafy vegetables and just about anything you would put into a salad: tomatoes, carrots, onions, peppers, cucumbers (but not the dressing, croutons or cheese). Most fresh and frozen vegetables apply except potatoes, corn and sweet peas (however, peas are not as starchy as corn and potatoes).
Recommendation for amounts are 3-4 cups. The best way to make sure you get enough vegetables is to have at least 1 mixed green salad each day (try lunch-time). A salad will usually be 2 or more cups. If you also have some more vegetables for dinner, you will be easily meeting your recommended amount of vegetables each day.

By having a fruit smoothie for breakfast and a salad for lunch, you can take care of the majority of your fruit and vegetable concerns for the whole day! The task of eating 3-5 servings of fruits and 3-4 cups of vegetables doesn't seem nearly as daunting when you can get all of it within 2 meals! You can finally live up to your mom's expectations! :-)

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God." Philippians 1:9-11 (New International Version)