Eating for Health 5 A Day

Eating for health.  How many people really know what that means?   As an Adjunct Professor of Nutrition, I am exposed to students who know a little about eating for health, some who have been exposed to nutrition but aren’t sure if what they heard is true, and those who know very little about healthy eating but are willing to learn as they are taking a nutrition course.   Some very basics of nutrition facts are new to them.    Let’s start with a general rule.   Everyone should eat 5 Fruits and Vegetables a day.   Many of my students are floored by this.   No, it is not 5 fruits and 5 vegetables a day – although that would be great.  The bar is much lower than that, 5 fruits AND/OR vegetables a day.   That could be a glass of  100% juice at breakfast, a piece of fruit and some carrot sticks at lunch and 2 servings of vegetables at dinner.  One of my students came bouncing into class this week all excited as he never knew he should eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day.    After our class last week, he went grocery shopping and bought all kinds of fruits and vegetables and spent the week trying to get in 5 a day.  He was so proud because he said he lost 6 pounds.  I assume this is because the fruits and vegetables were substituting for snacks that were a lot higher in calories than his servings of fresh fruit and vegetables.  He said he even started bringing fruit with him to school as a snack.  Good for him.   So try it.  If you are not yet eating 5 A DAY, start now.   Try having 2 servings of fruits/vegetables at lunch, at dinner.   Have fruit for a snack.  If 5 A Day is too challenging for you, then add at least one more fruit or vegetable serving a day to what you are currently getting.