Doubling veggie and fruit intake
Q: I just heard that the latest research says 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, or twice what we eat daily, offer a lot more than twice the health benefits. How am I supposed to double my family’s intake? – Maureen F., Oakland, Calif. A: It’s great that your family is eating five servings of fruits and veggies a day and wants to do more! What you heard about is a British metastudy that looked at 96 individual studies and found that when people upped their fruit and vegetable intake from 14 ounces to 28 ounces daily, they had a 31 per cent reduction of premature death, a 33 per cent lower risk of stroke, a 28 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease, a 24 per cent lower risk of heart disease and a 13 per cent lower risk of cancer. The researchers are talking about what they call “portions” – and one portion equals just under three ounces.
To get 28 ounces a day, you need a total intake of a bit less than 10 three-ounce portions.
So how to do that? Well, Maureen, in addition to what you regularly eat, try these:
1. Drink your veggies and fruit. A breakfast berry smoothie (check out www. Doctoroz.com for recipes) dishes up 4 ounces of berries and 2 ounces of banana. Dr. Oz’s green drink is made with 2 cups (16 ounces) fresh spinach, 4 ounces celery, 2 ounces cucumber, 3 carrots (4.5 ounces or more), parsley, mint, half of a lemon, lime, orange, 2 apples, and 1/4 pineapple.
2. Change your snacking habits. Stock the fridge with celery and carrot sticks and florets of broccoli or cauliflower. You can make a dipping sauce with lemon/lime/low-fat yogurt/fresh dill. Fruit makes a great pick-me-up midafternoon and an after-dinner dessert; 1 pear, 1/2 grapefruit, 2 kiwi, 1 apple – each is one portion.
And make sure you have walnut halves and almonds on hand. With these snacks, you can easily add 1-4 portions of veggies and fruits.
3. Discover new ways of preparing veggies. Creating entrees that are all-veg (whole-wheat or spinach pasta primavera, or a hearty lentil and vegetable soup) is a great way to increase intake substantially.