Keys to Good Nutrition Include the Tip of Eating 5-13 Servings of Healthy Fruits & Vegetables A Day

An extremely important key to good nutrition is eating lots of fruits, berries, greens, and vegetables every day. In fact, the government recommends that people eat 5-9 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables a day. Unfortunately, most Americans only eat about 3 servings a day, which is far below what their bodies need. Keep reading because I've got some valuable tips to eating healthy and creating for yourself a healthy lifestyle.

I would like to give you the link to The Harvard School of Public Health that recently published findings on this topic. It is copyrighted 2007 and has a long list of references at the end of the article.

The Harvard School of Public Health article on fruits and vegetables

One of the conclusions they came to after much research was this:

"The latest dietary guidelines call for five to thirteen servings of fruits and vegetables a day, depending on one's caloric intake.(1) For a person who needs 2,000 calories a day to maintain weight and health, this translates into nine servings, or 4½ cups per day."

Let me ask you a simple question:

Have you had your 5-13 recommended servings of fruits and vegetables today? How about your kids?

There are tremendous health benefits to eating 5-13 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Read some of the paragraphs I have quoted below from the Harvard study to find out what these amazing health benefits are.

Now, I can just hear some of you moms out there saying to yourself that there's no way to get your kids to eat that many healthy fruits and vegetables every day. Right?

Wrong! There is a way.

It's easy, convenient, affordable, mostly organic, lifestyle-friendly, and actually tastes great.

It's called, "The FEAST." What is it?

The Feast is a live, whole food based InstaFresh juice that you simply mix with water and drink. It's like having the whole produce aisle in the supermarket in a glass to drink & be done with it.

What's in it? It's a live whole food nutritional supplement that's loaded with 30 fruits and berries and 30 powerful greens and vegetables. It's also got 11 seeds, nuts, and sprouts, living probiotics, and 83+ active enzymes and fulvic minerals. It's simply the easiest and best way to ensure that you and your kids are getting your daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. Of course, you still want to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables to get all the fiber your body needs, but this super juice is one simple way to fill in the gaps when you're not getting the full recommended 5-13 daily servings. Give it a try; you've got nothing to lose and your health to gain.

If you're interested in more information, you can click on the link on the top left of this blog entitled, "Try the Feast," and it will take you to a website that will give you a lot more information about it. You can also call the following number and listen to a recorded message by the creator of the Feast, Uri LeBaron. Simply call: 1-732-463-6339.

My wife and I love drinking the Feast every day, and our kids love it too. For me, it's been the single most nutritional experience of my life.

The Naked Nutrition Knight

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For your added benefit, I have included some paragraph excerpts below from the Harvard School of Public Health article dated 2007 and referenced above. Please take a few moments and read what they have discovered about the value and power of fruits & vegetables. I strongly encourage you to click the link above and read the article in its entirety.

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"Over the past 30 years or so, researchers have developed a solid base of science to back up what generations of mothers preached (but didn't always practice themselves). Early on, fruits and vegetables were acclaimed as cancer-fighting foods. In fact, the ubiquitous 5-A-Day message (now quietly changing to Eat 5 to 9 A Day) seen in produce aisles, magazine ads, and schools is supported in part by the National Cancer Institute. The latest research, though, suggests that the biggest payoff from eating fruits and vegetables is for the heart.

Fruits, Vegetables, and Cardiovascular Disease

There is compelling evidence that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can lower the risk of heart disease and stroke.

The largest and longest study to date, done as part of the Harvard-based Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study, included almost 110,000 men and women whose health and dietary habits were followed for 14 years. The higher the average daily intake of fruits and vegetables, the lower the chances of developing cardiovascular disease. Compared with those in the lowest category of fruit and vegetable intake (less than 1.5 servings a day), those who averaged 8 or more servings a day were 30% less likely to have had a heart attack or stroke.(2)

Although all fruits and vegetables likely contribute to this benefit, green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and mustard greens; cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, and kale; and citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit (and their juices) make important contributions.

Fruits, Vegetables, and Gastrointestinal Health

One of the wonderful components of fruits and vegetables is their indigestible fiber. As fiber passes through the digestive system, it sops up water like a sponge and expands. This can calm the irritable bowel and, by triggering regular bowel movements, can relieve or prevent constipation.(10) The bulking and softening action of insoluble fiber also decrease pressure inside the intestinal tract and so may help prevent diverticulosis (the development of tiny, easily irritated pouches inside the colon) and diverticulitis (the often painful inflammation of these pouches).(11)

Fruits, Vegetables, and Vision

Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables also keeps your eyes in good shape. You may have learned that the vitamin A in carrots aids night vision. Other fruits and vegetables help prevent two common aging-related eye diseases - cataract and macular degeneration - which afflict millions of Americans over age sixty-five. Cataract is the gradual clouding of the eye's lens, a disk of protein that focuses light on the light-sensitive retina. Macular degeneration is caused by cumulative damage to the macula, the center of the retina. It starts as a blurred spot in the center of what you see. As the degeneration spreads, vision shrinks.

Free radicals generated by sunlight, cigarette smoke, air pollution, infection, and metabolism cause much of this damage. Dark green leafy vegetables contain two pigments, lutein and zeaxanthin, that accumulate in the eye. These two appear to be able to snuff out free radicals before they can harm the eye's sensitive tissues.(12)

In general, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains appears to reduce the chances of developing cataract or macular degeneration. (13-15)

The Bottom Line: Recommendations for Fruit and Vegetable Intake

Fruits and vegetables are clearly an important part of a good diet. Almost everyone can benefit from eating more of them, but variety is as important as quantity. No single fruit or vegetable provides all of the nutrients you need to be healthy. The key lies in the variety of different fruits and vegetables that you eat.

Some basic fruit and vegetable tips:

* Try to eat more fruits and vegetables. If you need 2,000 calories a day to maintain your weight and health, aim for at least nine servings (4½ cups) a day.
* Choose a variety of different fruits and vegetables. It's easy to get into a rut when it comes to the food you eat. Break out and try a wider variety - include dark-green, leafy vegetables; yellow, orange, and red fruits and vegetables; cooked tomatoes; and citrus fruits." - Harvard School of Public Health, 2007

The aim of the Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Source is to provide timely information on diet and nutrition for clinicians, allied health professionals, and the public. The contents of this Web site are not intended to offer personal medical advice. You should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The information does not mention brand names, nor does it endorse any particular products.

©2007 President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved.

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Daily Quote: "Have you had your 5-13 servings of fruits and vegetables today? How about your kids? - The Naked Nutrition Knight