It is widely known that fruits and vegetables are good for your health but even with all the times that our nutritionists and doctors repeat us, we still do not give the importance they should and fall short on getting our daily dose. Therefore, the LEAP! @ ESU team is excited to share with you some tasty, easy and fun ways to include more fruits and veggies to your daily diet.
Benefits of Eating Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are essential food groups for a balance diet. When consumed in sufficient quantities, they can provide numerous health benefits and reduce your risk of developing serious diseases such as heart disease, stroke and some forms of cancer. [1] Let´s talk about some of the most important benefits!
Great source of antioxidants: have you ever hear the word “free radicals”? These are natural highly reactive molecules produced due to various chemical processes that occur in our body like metabolism of foods. However, there are external factors that may generate a much higher numbers of free radicals in our body such as exposure to pesticides, contamination, cigarette smoke and alcohol consumption. [2] When our body is unable to stabilize these free radicals, they begin to damage our cells by altering the DNA and causing what is called “oxidative stress.” Science have found that oxidative stress is linked to numerous diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, Alzheimer´s disease and other types of dementia. [2] Luckily, eating a variety of fruits and vegetables can provide huge sources of “antioxidants” such as vitamin C and E, selenium and carotenoids, these are all natural substances that can prevent free radicals from damaging our cells and consequently prevent many of the cited chronic diseases.
High fiber content: eating our daily dose of fruits and vegetables can easily help us meet our recommended fiber intake. Fiber is great for gut health, controlling blood sugar levels, lower blood cholesterol and protection against cardiovascular diseases. [3]
Provide water: foods rich in water are also good sources of electrolytes and minerals that help us to stay well hydrated. Fruits and vegetables such as watermelon, tomato, cucumber, strawberries, lettuce, etc. have a water content higher than 90%. [4] Therefore, they are excellent options to supplement your diet on a daily basis.
Provide satiety and help maintain a healthy weight: consuming a diet that contains at with adequate servings of fruits and vegetables can help you maintain a healthy weight. The water and fiber from fruits and vegetables add more volume to your foods, which makes you feel satisfied without eating lots of calories.
Tips to Easily Get Your 5 a Day
Empower your breakfast: try these ideas – add berries, dried fruits and banana pieces to your yogurt, cereal or oatmeal cup. Make yourself a tasty smoothie! Combine milk with frozen berries or bananas for a super easy fruit mix breakfast. What about vegetables? Add bell peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach or onions to your eggs, top it with cheese and you will have a delicious and healthy omelet in your first meal of the day.
Get creative and double them up!: When following recipes, don´t be afraid to add more ingredients than it suggests, when it comes to soups, salads, pastas or stews, an overdose of chopped vegetables is not going to ruin your recipe. On the contrary, it will increase the flavor, the nutritional value and your daily dose of vegetables!
Snack attack: make fruits and vegetables your perfect snack with these amazing ideas - Have a bowl of fresh fruit on your countertop or on your desk (make it look tempting if possible) for an easy on-the-go snack. Keep dried fruit in your car or bag for those busy days when you don't have time to stop for something fresh. Spread almond butter in apple or pear slices. Want something salty? Consider carrots sticks with hummus.
Lettuce wraps: we have nothing against consuming bread but switching every once in a while to lettuce wraps can be a perfect way to get that extra serving of vegetables that you are looking for.
Pick your favorite smoothie: fruit and vegetable smoothies can be your best ally. Check out this link and have fun trying these delicious smoothie recipes https://www.champagnenutrition.com/80-healthy-smoothie-recipes/
Get “Clean” Fruits and Vegetables
When consuming your fruits and vegetables make sure you are getting the “clean" ones. According to the Environmental Working Group's, 70% of fruits and vegetables products sold in the U.S contain harmful chemical pesticides which is why the EWG´s annually ranks fruits and vegetables according to pesticide contamination. [5]
The Clean 15 ranks the fruits and vegetables with the lower pesticide content, while the dirty 12 ranks the ones with the highest levels of pesticide residues.
Clean 15
1. Avocados
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapple
4. Onions
5. Papaya
6. Sweet peas (frozen)
7. Eggplants
8. Asparagus
9. Cauliflower
10. Cantaloupes
11. Broccoli
12. Mushrooms
13. Cabbage
14. Honeydew melon
15. Kiwi
Dirty 12
1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale
4. Nectarines
5. Apples
6. Grapes
7. Peaches
8. Cherries
9. Pears
10. Tomatoes
11. Celery
12. Potatoes
Keeping this list with you will help you in making smarter decisions when buying fruits and vegetables. Consuming organic or clean fruits and vegetables will ensure that you are getting all the nutritional value and health benefits that nature provides you.
We hope that you found this blog helpful, remember that building new habits takes time so start with baby steps! Try to include one serving of fruits or vegetables per week and slowly increase until you reach the recommended goal. If you already consume five servings per day, aim for nine! Including more vegetables is only going to make you feel much better.
Don´t forget to share your progress with us, we will love to hear how you are improving your daily dose of fruits and vegetables. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns, the LEAP @ ESU team would be happy to help you!
References
Harvard T.H. Chan. 2021. Vegetables and Fruits. The Nutrition Source. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/vegetables-and-fruits/.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. 2013. Antioxidants: In Depth. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/antioxidants-in-depth
Dreher, M. 2018. Whole Fruits and Fruit Fiber Emerging Health Effects. Nutrients, 10(12):1833.
Popkin, B., D'Anci, K., and Rosenberg, I. 2010. Water, hydration, and health. Nutrition Reviews. 68(8):439-458.
Environmental Working Group. 2020. EWG’s 2020 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php.