In my mind this is just another study, in a long line of studies, which shows that in order to reduce your risk of disease you should be consuming most of your food in the form of produce.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Eat More Fruits and Veggies
In my mind this is just another study, in a long line of studies, which shows that in order to reduce your risk of disease you should be consuming most of your food in the form of produce.
I read about this study recently and showed it to my dad- he had non-hodgkin's lymphoma a few years ago. Sadly it makes no difference to him, like most of america he likes meat and processed junk food. He thinks that everything good for you tastes bad:(
ReplyDeleteI try and keep our intake of fruits and veggies as high as possible.
Janet,
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear about your dad, and that he won't change. My father has had colon cancer and I can't get him to change either so I understand.
We try to eat a minimum of 10 servings of fruits and veggies a day. Most days we are closer to 15 servings. Do you have a target you aim for each day?
Alicia
I know I certainly get in my veggies and fruits. Just waiting for the study to say I eat too many of them!
ReplyDeleteKeep spreading the message! That typically Americans consume only about 2 servings of fruits/veggies a day is absurd. The recommended 5 per day should be an absolute minimum, with a target of 10.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to get my wife to consume more. She's into smoothies so I've been offering to make one with dinner each night. She can't stand the taste of my Amazing Grass stuff, which admittedly tastes a bit like medicine. It's been great for me, since they claim it provides the equivalent of 7 servings of fruits/veggies. We tried the chocolate version at whole foods and she liked that when it was mixed with rice milk, but then it wouldn't be a smoothie. Maybe I'll try the kids version that they have, which provides 3 servings per scoop.
Matt
Heather,
ReplyDeleteI have not seen anything that even hints that you can consume too many fresh fruits and veggies. Too many suppplements yes but not too much produce. But if I do we are both in trouble. ;)
Matt,
I read that about the average American and two servings of veggies a day too. Worse yet the most consumed veggie is potato, in the form of french fries. And to think we wonder why cancer and heart disease are rampant. Duh!
I know what your wife means about the taste of green drinks. I can't say I enjoy them either. You can tell her that her taste buds may grow accustomed to the flavor after a week or so. At least it did for me.
Have you tried putting baby spinach in a smoothie for her? That has so little taste it doesn't really add to the flavor. Inititally the color is disturbing but the flavor is fine. Maybe that would work.
Alicia
Funny story, we bought this gigantic container of spinach on Sunday to make the smoothies. I apparently put in too much spinach because the color was unreal. It's what I expect nuclear waste to look like. I thought it tasted okay and she did drink it, but requested less spinach last time.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I just realized I don't know how much a serving of anything is. For instance, the banana I had a lunch. It was large, so was it 1.5 or 2 servings. My apple was smaller than usual, so was it only 1 serving? The beet/greens from dinner...2 servings or more like 4?
Matt,
ReplyDeleteLOL! I have made that same bright green smoothie too. The color was a little disturbing. Too funny that you did it too.
The serving thing is a little tricky. For leafy greens one cup (packed) is a serving. Cut up fruits and veggies are generally 1/2 cup servings. Whole fruit (like bananas, apples, and oranges) are normally considered 1 serving. There are charts that break it down by specific fruit or veggie, but that is too much work for me. I just estimate. We eat so many more than 10 I figure the estimate is close enough. Probably the same thing applies to you I would guess.
Alicia
Very cute eggplants in that photo of yours! Gotta love it! Doesn't fresh produce just make the loveliest pictures?! :) Their nutrition is good for the body and their beauty is good for the soul! Thank you for sharing your wisdom with me today. :)
ReplyDeleteValerie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by and commenting.
The photo is one I took after a morning trip to the farmers market. I love the different colors and textures of produce. Glad you enjoyed it too. :)
Alicia
Farmers markets ARE great, aren't they?! :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm SO happy to see that you left a reply to my little comment! That is very thoughtful, and always means a lot to me! Thank you Alicia! I will be sure to stop by and blog you again soon!
Valerie,
ReplyDeleteI do love my weekly trip to the farmers market. It will be a good day when our local market reopens in May. Local produce has to be more nutritious, if for no other reason because it was picked more recently.
I try to always reply to comments. It just seems appropriate to me. When someone takes the time to comment, the least I can do is acknowledge that with a proper response.
Have a great evening and talk to you again, :)
Alicia