Importance Of Eating More Fruits And Vegetables

People have probably been telling you that vegetables are good for you since you can remember. Your parents probably reminded you of this fact frequently while growing up when you refused to eat certain parts of dinner. As it turns out, vegetables are fantastic for your health. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can prevent many health problems from occurring and even improve some health problems that have already come up.

The National Cancer Institute is currently recommending that women eat seven servings of fruits and vegetables per day. For men, who are typically bigger, the recommendation is nine servings of fruits and vegetables. These recommendations stem from the results of many large nutrition studies. Over and over again, it has been shown that people who eat many fruits and vegetables each day have lower rates of cancer, heart disease, and other problems.

Fruits and vegetables are naturally high in fiber, so they help to lower cholesterol. The fiber that they contain also reduces the risk of colon cancer. Fruit and vegetable juices have the same vitamin and mineral content as whole fruits and vegetables, but less fiber. Juices are actually just fruits and vegetables with the fiber removed! The fiber is nutritionally valuable, so try to keep it in there most of the time!

Another great benefit of fruits and vegetables is that they are typically fairly low in calories. This is great news for people who are watching their waistlines. Fruits and vegetables can be very filling because of their fiber content. They also are packed with important vitamins and minerals that you need. Skimping on the fruits and vegetables is definitely not the shortcut to good health! Most vegetables also have the advantage of being low in carbohydrates. This is good news for a diabetic. Non-starchy vegetables make wonderful snacks that won’t raise your blood sugar or require extra insulin.

Now that you are aware of all of the great benefits of fruits and vegetables, try to increase the servings of fruits and vegetables that you eat each day. Most of us are not up to the recommended seven to nine servings, so there is a lot of room for improvement.

Try increasing your fruit and vegetable intake by one serving each day. If you typically eat two servings, try for three servings every day next week. Continue on increasing from there until you are up to the recommended amount. Have fruits and vegetables accessible at home, at work, and anywhere else that you spend a lot of time. Your mother may have thought that you would never eat more fruits and vegetables, but now you know it is worth it!

Jargons: phytochemicals, antioxidants.

Next article: Do Not Eat Large Meals