"Eat your fruits and vegetables" is one of the tried and true recommendations for a healthy diet. And for good reason! Eating plenty of vegetables and fruits can help you ward off heart disease and stroke, control blood pressure, prevent some types of cancer, avoid a painful intestinal ailment called diverticulitis, and guard against cataract and macular degeneration, two common causes of vision loss. The latest dietary guidelines call for five to thirteen servings of fruits and vegetables a day (2½ to 6½ cups per day), depending on one's caloric intake. For a person who needs 2,000 calories a day to maintain weight and health, this translates into nine servings, or 4½ cups per day (2 cups of fruit and 2½ cups of vegetables).
What counts as a cup of vegetables and fruits? According to the Harvard School of Public Health, for most fresh or cooked vegetables and fruits, one cup is just what you would put in a household measuring cup. There are two main exceptions to that rule: For lettuce and other raw leafy greens, you need to eat two cups to get the equivalent of one cup of vegetables. For dried fruit, you only need to eat ½ cup to get the equivalent of one cup of fruit.
The experts say it takes 21 days to form a habit. So let's start filling up on our fruits and veggies! We'll post weekly tips to help you with January's challenge.
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