New dietary guidelines released by the US government recommend that all Americans eat between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables each day. When you first hear this number, it may sound like a lot, but it's actually a lot easier than you think to fit plenty of servings of fruits and vegetables into your daily diet. For one thing, grocery store shelves are full of fresh fruits and vegetables. Plus, vegetables and fruits are some of the cheapest and most nutrient-dense foods in the supermarket. With so many fruits and vegetables to choose from, it's super easy to make these nutritious and delicious foods part of your daily meals and snacks.
When you factor in the actual serving size, it's actually quite easy to get five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day. For example, the recommended daily amount is actually two very reasonable cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables each day. When you consider the number of fruits and vegetables available and how low the prices usually are, it's easy to see how easy the daily goal is.
A great way to get the nutrients you need from fruits and vegetables every day is to take full advantage of the variety of these foods available. Eating the same thing every day quickly gets boring, so why not choose a variety of fruits and vegetables, in every color of the rainbow and in every shape, size and texture imaginable, to give you a varied diet everyday.
When buying fruits and vegetables, it is important to choose a variety of different colors. This is for more than purely artistic reasons. Different colored fruits and vegetables have different types of nutrients, and choosing a variety of colors will help you get all the vitamins and minerals you need every day.
Finding new recipes is another great way to make sure you get those five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Everyone loves trying new recipes, and these new recipes may just provide the boost you need to eat all those fruits and vegetables.
New recipes can also provide you with the important opportunity to try some fruits and vegetables that you have never tried before. For example, everyone ate oranges, but did you try kiwi fruits or mangoes? How about spinach or kale? Trying new things is a great way to find new favorites while getting the best nutrition available.
Many people mistakenly think that they don't need to eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day if they're just taking a vitamin supplement. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, fruits and vegetables contain much more than the micronutrients identified by science and synthesized in vitamin pills. Although these micronutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin E are important for good health, hundreds of other elements are also contained in healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables. These elements are not available in any pill, they must be ingested through a healthy and balanced diet that contains many fruits and vegetables.
In addition, fruits and vegetables are much less expensive than vitamin pills. Fruits and vegetables are very inexpensive, especially when purchased in season and grown locally. In the long run, getting the nutrition you need from the foods you eat is much cheaper, and much better for you, than popping those vitamin pills every day.
So don't forget to bring your five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. It may seem like a lot, but you can achieve this perfectly reasonable goal simply by including fruits and vegetables as snacks, garnishes, side dishes, and meals.
