The Power of Fruits & Veggies

Posted: March 1, 2004

Fruits and vegetables provide vitamins, minerals, and fiber that your body needs. They're also packed with hundreds of disease-fighting phytochemicals — natural substances that work as a team to protect good health. Only fruits and vegetables, not pills or supplements, can provide all of these nutrients together.

While the exact mechanisms of specific phytochemicals are being studied, one thing is clear: the different colors of fruits and vegetables — green, yellow-orange, red, blue-purple, and white — all contain a unique array of disease-fighting phytochemicals that work together with vitamins and minerals to protect our health.

Here are just a few examples of the phytochemicals found in various fruits and vegetables:

• Carotenoids from red and yellow-orange fruits and vegetables (such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots)
• Lycopene in tomato-based foods (such as tomato sauce, tomato paste)
• Lutein and zeaxanthin in leafy greens (such as spinach, romaine lettuce)
• Flavanoids in brightly colored fruits and vegetables (such as blueberries, cherries, strawberries)

Fruits and vegetables and disease
Heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer, and diabetes account for about three-quarters of all deaths in the United States. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in fat is associated with reduced risk for these diseases.

Cancer
People whose diets are rich in fruits and vegetables have a lower risk of getting many cancers (lung, mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, colon, and rectum). They are also less likely to get cancers of the breast, pancreas, larynx, and bladder.

The good news is that American adults are eating more fruits and vegetables, nearing the minimum of "5 A Day" for better health. But, many Americans should strive to eat up to 9 daily servings. "Eating 5 to 9 and Feeling Fine" is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) recommendation.

Men’s diets
According to the NCI, men need to eat more fruit and vegetables, but they're eating less – and they're lagging behind women in several other significant ways.

• Men eat only about 4 1/2 servings of fruits and vegetables a day on average.
• Only 4 percent of men say they eat the 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day recommended as part of an active lifestyle.

Men aren't aware of the benefits.

• Men are significantly less likely than women to recognize the health benefits of fruits and vegetables, such as their role in reducing the risk of many cancers, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Men have high rates of diet-related diseases.

• Men have approximately 1 1/2 times the death rate of total cardiovascular diseases as women.
• Men have approximately 1 1/2 times the death rate of total cancers as women.
• Men have approximately 2 times the death rate of lung cancer as women.
• Men have approximately 1 1/2 times the death rate of colorectal cancer as women.
• More than two-thirds of men are overweight or obese.

Easy Ways to Eat “5 to 9” A Day

• Have a fruit or juice at breakfast daily.
• Have a fruit or vegetable snack each day.
• Stock up on dried, frozen, and canned fruits and vegetables.
• Make fruit and vegetables visible in your home.
• Microwave vegetables for dinner.
• Grab an apple, orange, banana, pear, or other piece of portable fruit to eat on-the-go.
• Snack on raw veggies like baby carrots, pepper strips, broccoli, and celery.
• Pick up ready-made salads from the produce shelf for a quick salad anytime.
• Pile spinach leaves, tomatoes, peppers, and onions on your pizza.
• Add strawberries, blueberries, bananas and other brightly colored fruits – fresh, frozen, or canned – to your waffles, pancakes or toast.
• Stash bags of dried fruit in your car and at your desk for a convenient snack.
• Stir fresh or frozen vegetables into your pasta, noodles, or omelet.
• Whip up smoothies made from fresh or frozen berries, ice, and yogurt.
• Jazz up your soups or sauces with a can of kidney beans, peas, corn, or green beans.

Source: National Cancer Institute

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