National 5 A Day Month Is All About Incorporating More Fruits and Vegetables into Our Diets
Tips on Preparing Fruits and Vegetables
- Wash fruits and vegetables with a brush and special produce soaps - even packaged, pre-washed produce
- To preserve nutrients, lightly steam vegetables rather than boil them
- Advance preparation, such as packaging cut-up fruits and veggies for snacks or making a salad big enough for two dinners, helps to ensure that produce won't go to waste
September 2005 — The next time you're contemplating that cream cheese-laden bagel or a mid-afternoon chocolate bar or bag of chips, consider a juicy orange, a bunch of red grapes or some crunchy celery sticks instead.
September is National 5 A Day Month, which highlights the importance of incorporating more fruits and vegetables into our diets. Although most health experts agree that diets rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and certain kinds of cancer, most Americans get less than the recommended five to nine daily servings. According to a United States Department of Agriculture report, Americans consume only half as much fruit as recommended, and french fries, potato chips and iceberg lettuce account for a third of their vegetable servings. Marilyn Gordon, MS, RD, LD, dietitian at Memorial Regional Hospital Fitness & Rehabilitation Center, advises against counting foods such as chips, fries or even carrot cake as vegetable servings.
Fruitful Beginnings
"I try to get people to think more about their breakfast choices," says Gordon. "Breakfast is the best way to get fruit in. You could have a fresh orange or juice, put berries in your cereal and pack a bag of strawberries for a mid-morning snack. That's three servings. Then in mid-afternoon you could have another package of sliced cucumbers or carrots and red pepper strips. That's five."
A serving is generally half a cup of any fruit and vegetable. For example, a medium-sized orange or apple makes up one serving, as does a can of vegetable juice. The number of servings needed depends on the total calories consumed. "But research is showing us that fruits and vegetables should make up the bulk of the diet and that we need variety," Gordon says.
Different colored fruits and vegetables provide varying vitamins and nutrients. Orange ones, such as carrots, sweet potatoes and pumpkin, are rich in beta carotene and vitamin A, while green veggies, like brussels sprouts and spinach, are great sources of vitamin K.
Nature's Candy
While parents should introduce fruits and vegetables to children at a young age, they should not expect immediate acceptance. "Vegetables can be challenging," Gordon says, "because they tend not to be as sweet as fruit and in some cases can be a little pungent. Hang in there and keep offering various fruits and vegetables. Trying different presentations sometimes helps, too, such as cutting up items into interesting shapes."
Fruits and vegetables make great high-fiber snacks for school or work, too. Because they're often high in water content and filling, they may eliminate that afternoon junk food cravings. "They're low in calories, but satisfying and nutritious," Gordon says. "Fruit truly is nature's candy."
And for those who cite cost as an issue, the United States Department of Agriculture priced 154 fruits and vegetables and found that more than half of them cost 25 cents or less per serving - far less expensive than a vending machine snack. People can save even more by shopping at farmers' markets and purchasing only what they'll eat.
Both Memorial Regional Hospital Fitness & Rehabilitation Center in Hollywood and Memorial Hospital West Fitness & Rehabilitation Center in Pembroke Pines offer nutritional counseling services to members at a discounted fee. To learn more, contact the Hollywood location at (954) 265-5800 or the Pembroke Pines location at
(954) 844-7125.