By Diane Tuerke, Nutritionist/Personal Trainer
In a world where there is so much nutrition talk around decreasing carbs, going low fat, eliminating sugar etc., perhaps its time to simplify the approach and messaging:
- Increase the number and color of fruits and vegetables
When people hear malnutrition, they often think low calories, and while that is true, another form of malnutrition is low micronutrients. Macronutrients are important as they provide us with energy and are the building blocks to make us who we are. However, micronutrients are the main drivers of our metabolic function. They influence our energy metabolism, physiological processes, growth, and development etc. While many foods contain micronutrients, such as grains, legumes, dairy, poultry, seafood etc, fruits and vegetables are a huge, reliable source.
Furthermore, there are additional benefits to focusing on the addition of fruit and vegetables to your diet.
- Hydration – Since they are mostly water, they are a good way to stay fuller for longer with less calories being consumed.
- Fibre rich – The fibre content found in fruits and vegetables is huge and will help you stay satiated through the day.
The World Health Organization recommends that we consume 400 grams of fruits and vegetables per day, or at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
- A serving of fruit is typically 1 cup or 1 medium fruit (2 small fruits).
- A serving of vegetables is around 1 cup (excluding leafy greens which can be consumed in addition to this target).
To make things easier, you can aim to have one serving of a fruit or vegetable of each colour:
- reds = strawberry, apples, cherries, watermelon, tomato, red pepper
- oranges = apricot, oranges, carrots, sweet potato, squash
- yellows = banana, pineapple, yellow pepper,
- greens = grapes, kiwi, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, greens
- blues/ purples = blueberries, plums, eggplant, beets, red cabbage
- whites/ browns = white peach, pear, melon, cauliflower, mushroom, potato, leeks, fennel
But don’t be too hard on yourself if you have broccoli at lunch and dinner! In general, over the course of the week, we want to include variety with our fruit and vegetable choices, as each colour has its own unique properties. (For more of a deeper dive into the health benefits of each of these colours refer to The Health Powder Of Colourful Foods Blog Part 1 and Part 2).
Here is a sample day of what consuming 400 grams of fruits and vegetables could look
like:
- Breakfast: whole grain toast with egg and cheese omelette, and an apple on the side
- Lunch: Bowl with sweet potatoes, broccoli, lentils and peanut sauce with an orange on the
- side
- Afternoon Snack: Greek yogurt bowl with berries and mixed nuts/seeds
- Dinner: Chicken and rice with a mushroom sauce (can also add in some spinach)
It’s pretty easy to make this adjustment, just keep the simple message of adding 5+ servings of fruit or vegetables daily.
References:
https://www.who.int/health-topics/micronutrients#tab=tab_3
https://www.who.int/tools/elena/commentary/fruit-vegetables-ncds