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Health, Diet and Nutrition
Color Your Way to Daily Health
It's important that we eat plenty of different fruits and
vegetables every day. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables may
reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases. Fruits and
vegetables provide essential vitamins and minerals, fiber, and
other substances that are important for good health. Most fruits
and vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories and are
filling.
You've probably heard about the 5 A Day for Better Health program.
It provides easy ways to add more fruits and vegetables into your
daily eating patterns. It's vital that we eat a wide variety of
colorful orange/yellow, red, green, white, and blue/purple
vegetables and fruit every day. By eating vegetables and fruit from
each color group, you will benefit from the essential vitamins,
minerals, and fiber that each color group has to offer alone and in
combination.
There are several different yet simple ways to start incorporating
vegetables and fruit into your familiar and favorite meals. You can
begin your day with 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice, slice
bananas or strawberries on top of your cereal, or have a salad with
lunch and an apple for an afternoon snack. Include a vegetable with
dinner and you already have about 5 cups of fruits and vegetables.
You may even try adding a piece of fruit for a snack or an extra
vegetable at dinner.
Don't be afraid to try something new to increase your vegetable and
fruit intake. There are so many choices when selecting fruits and
vegetables. Kiwifruit, asparagus, and mango may become your new
favorite. Keep things fresh and interesting by combining fruits and
vegetables of different flavors and colors, like red grapes with
pineapple chunks, or cucumbers and red peppers.
Get in the habit of keeping fruits and vegetables visible and
easily accessible - you'll tend to eat them more. Store cut and
cleaned produce at eye-level in the refrigerator, or keep a big
colorful bowl of fruit on the table.
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