Five servings of fruit and vegatables a day - Might Not Be Enough After All!

[Villages PL]

Http://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=123002LRF2JR

I never thought 5 a day would be enough. I always looked upon it as a minimum and didn't think it would do much to promote good health. I usually have about 5 servings of (mixed & chopped) fruit for breakfast, followed by oatmeal and nuts.

My big lunchtime salad (in a big salad bowl) must contain at least 8 servings of vegetables, followed by an apple.

Dinner: A lot more vegetables (in a soup), sometimes followed by fruit for dessert. I don't measure the vegetables but it must be at least another 4 to 5 servings.

Oyinlola Oyebode: "We have shown that those eating seven or more portions of fruit and vegetables daily have the lowest risk of mortality from any cause...." -University College London.

To think that seven is enough, is still wrong, in my opinion. Let's make it 10 to 12 servings of vegetables.

What do you think? How many servings of vegetables do you have per day?

[jblum315]

Maybe 3 on a good day

[Villages PL]

Maybe 3 on a good day

Honesty is always appreciated. The article stated that most people are not eating even five servings of fruit and vegetables.

[billethkid]

we have fruit and vegetables at every meal of the day and for snacks in the evening. What we count is the number of meat and non meats which amount to the least input of all for ANY given day!

[KathieI]

When I lived in CA, I drank at least 8 huge glasses or small bottles of water a day (in the desert that's easy to do) but I also had about 7-8 portions of fruits and veggies a day but here in FL, I just don't find the fruits to be as tasty and juicy as they were in CA and I must admit I'm having a lot less in my daily meals. It bothers me greatly because I do love my fruits and veggies and I wish I would have more. I must work out a better eating plan to assist me. Was thinking of buying a really good juicer (in LA we had juice bars on every street and I loved them) but we don't have anything like that here.

I also eat out too much but when I can, I order vegetables instead of fries, sometimes double veggies.

[BarryRX]

I don't measure, but I must have 3 servings of veggies with EACH meal. It's not as much with fruits, but I still manage 5 servings of fruit daily, usually an apple, a pear, a banana, grapes, and pineapple. For the veggies it's easy because I eat them all day long. Lots of Kale, spinach, parsley, bok choi, celery, carrots.

[ronduh]

since the first of the year I have found frozen cut up bananas in a blender make great banana softserve ice cream very easy to get three bananas and a beautiful dish of banana softserve ice cream. Walmart sells a special Blender made for just doing this however a regular blender works much better and is easier to clean I put a small teaspoon of peanut butter in the blender with the bananas makes for a great peanut butter banana shake

[BarryRX]

since the first of the year I have found frozen cut up bananas in a blender make great banana softserve ice cream very easy to get three bananas and a beautiful dish of banana softserve ice cream. Walmart sells a special Blender made for just doing this however a regular blender works much better and is easier to clean I put a small teaspoon of peanut butter in the blender with the bananas makes for a great peanut butter banana shake

I do something similiar. A frozen banana, 3 pineapple spears, coconut milk, some juiced kale and spinach, and 2 drops of vanilla extract. It tastes like a virgin pina colada.

[2BNTV]

Two maybe three a day.

I'm still figuring on dying, but hope to prolong the grim reaper, as long as possible!! :D

[tippyclubb]

Way too many for my liking. We have 5 or 6 vegetarian days a week. If we have meat its chicken or fish. Every 5-6 weeks we might have a steak or burger.

We have been eating like this for 12 years since my husbands heart attack. Within the last few years my cholesterol is rising so dairy products have been eliminated from our diet also.

I'm sick of vegetables, oatmeal, beans and will give this low fat/salt diet up when we arrive in TV. I'm done with it. The plan was to stay alive long enough to get there and once we do anything goes. When I die let it be with a belly filled with cheeseburgers & fries.

[DDoug]

For the last 7 weeks I have eaten nothing but salad vegs and oatmeal I've lost 30 lbs and will lose another 30 to 40 feeling better. Oh for got to mention no more beer changed to wine. Be creative about salads it's easy also lots of nuts any kind.

[Barefoot]

For the last 7 weeks I have eaten nothing but salad vegs and oatmeal I've lost 30 lbs and will lose another 30 to 40 feeling better. Oh for got to mention no more beer changed to wine. Be creative about salads it's easy also lots of nuts any kind.

No protein?
Congratulation on your Will power.

[BarryRX]

No protein?
Congratulation on your Will power.
Vegetarians seldom have a problem getting enough protein as long as they're getting enough calories. Great sources of protein are nuts, beans, dairy, eggs, and soy products like tofu.

[Barefoot]

For the last 7 weeks I have eaten nothing but salad vegs and oatmeal I've lost 30 lbs and will lose another 30 to 40 feeling better. Oh for got to mention no more beer changed to wine. Be creative about salads it's easy also lots of nuts any kind.

Vegetarians seldom have a problem getting enough protein as long as they're getting enough calories. Great sources of protein are nuts, beans, dairy, eggs, and soy products like tofu.

Barry, DDoug said he ate nothing but salad, veggies and oatmeal. That's why I was wondering if he had a protein source.

[asianthree]

our grandson only eats plain pasta, and bread.....only has one kidney and its on the small side..proteins give his system havic so he avoids them..turning 17 soon is 5'9" and 150. so one can live their live without protein

[DDoug]

Yes there is protein lots of it ad chicken and the like to salad but try to stay away from cooked food as much as possible and nuts and cheese and eggs

[kittygilchrist]

what's a serving anyway? How many can you eat in a day I'm thinking....so here's some info, and servings are smaller than I thought...

The National Cancer Institute defines a serving as:

One medium-sized fruit (such as apples, oranges, bananas, pears)
1/2 cup of raw, cooked, canned or frozen fruits or vegetables
3/4 cup (6 oz.) of 100% fruit or vegetable juice
1/2 cup cut-up fruit
1/2 cup cooked or canned legumes (such as beans and peas)
1 cup of raw, leafy vegetables (such as lettuce and spinach)
1/4 cup dried fruit (such as raisins, apricots, mango)

[ssmith]

To Tippyclub,

I can understand what you are saying. I am an RN have worked in Cardiology now 5 years.

Dying is not the problem but remember that living with the stroke and/or poor heart eating up all your energy/money is also a problem. Remember too that while you may be clogging your heart all your other arteries are clogging up as well, including those in the brain and legs etc.

Also I would get many calls from people after they have made bad habits wanting to be fixed of their health problems but often the damage cannot be reversed or takes a long time to reverse if at all ( I am referencing studies that show that Crestor may reverse clogged arteries over time and/or vegan diets may reverse damage also)

I am a big fan for letting people make their own choices but also think people should be informed. Sadly I have dealt with many that regret the choices they have made.

Now having said that, I certainly could make better choices too!!!! LOL

[B767drvr]

Barry, DDoug said he ate nothing but salad, veggies and oatmeal. That's why I was wondering if he had a protein source.

On a per calorie basis, spinach has 2.5 times the amount of protein vs. lean beef. Spinach is 52% protein and lean beef is 51%.

Not picking on you at all Barefoot, but unfortunately there's a lot of myth and misinformation out there implying that protein can only be derived from animal sources. There's an abundance of plant-based sources of protein which will ideally fuel the human body without any of the negatives (cancer, heart disease, etc...) associated with animal-based sources.

[Villages PL]

what's a serving anyway? How many can you eat in a day I'm thinking....so here's some info, and servings are smaller than I thought...

The National Cancer Institute defines a serving as:

One medium-sized fruit (such as apples, oranges, bananas, pears)
1/2 cup of raw, cooked, canned or frozen fruits or vegetables
3/4 cup (6 oz.) of 100% fruit or vegetable juice
1/2 cup cut-up fruit
1/2 cup cooked or canned legumes (such as beans and peas)
1 cup of raw, leafy vegetables (such as lettuce and spinach)
1/4 cup dried fruit (such as raisins, apricots, mango)


I guess an organization such as NCI can make a serving whatever they want it to be. But the article I referred to stated a 1/2 cup for everything.

I finally measured, for the first time, how many 1/2 cup servings are in my big lunchtime salad. I'll list it in case anyone wants to try it:

Artisan lettuce......................3 servings

Celery.................................1.5

Cooked carrots.......................1

Cooked broccoli.......................1

Chopped raw onion..................1/2 serving

Mushrooms.............................1

Cucumber...............................1

Cut up tomato..........................1

Mixture of beans & amaranth.....1 cup

That's a total of ten servings of vegetables whereas I had estimated 8 in my opening post.

[tippyclubb]

To Tippyclub,

I can understand what you are saying. I am an RN have worked in Cardiology now 5 years.

Dying is not the problem but remember that living with the stroke and/or poor heart eating up all your energy/money is also a problem. Remember too that while you may be clogging your heart all your other arteries are clogging up as well, including those in the brain and legs etc.

Also I would get many calls from people after they have made bad habits wanting to be fixed of their health problems but often the damage cannot be reversed or takes a long time to reverse if at all ( I am referencing studies that show that Crestor may reverse clogged arteries over time and/or vegan diets may reverse damage also)

I am a big fan for letting people make their own choices but also think people should be informed. Sadly I have dealt with many that regret the choices they have made.

Now having said that, I certainly could make better choices too!!!! LOL

Thanks for the reminder. We have been doing this healthy eating for so long it becomes a way of life. We have strayed off our diet when we go on vacations, as its almost impossible to eat healthy. By the end of the week I'm craving FRESH vegetables that are not covered in butter, salt, or cheese.

They say everything in moderation and we are not doing that now. Were pretty strict with our health diet. When we retire I'll be more lenient of including some unhealthy food choices in our meals. Moderation is the key.