Ask an Expert: Ten reasons to eat more fruits and vegetables
Q: “My husband is a meat-and-potatoes man. Every once in a while he will eat a piece of fruit, but aside from those potatoes, I can’t get him to eat vegetables. Can you?”
Answer from Kimra Hawk, R.D., L.D., outpatient dietitian at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, and Terese Scollard, MBA, R.D., L.D., regional clinical nutrition manager for Providence Nutrition Services: According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, fruits and vegetables are the foods we should eat most often. Yet, like your husband, most Americans eat less than half the recommended amount. While the recommendations vary by age and gender, the average adult should eat about four and a half cups a day. As a more general guideline, we should make fruits and vegetables about half of what we eat, every time we eat.
That’s probably way more than your husband eats now, so here are 10 reasons you can give him to start eating more.
1. Whole fruits and vegetables are better than supplements: The supplements section of the grocery store is stacked high with bottles and pills promising more energy, better health and faster weight loss. But to fulfill these promises, your husband would do better to steer his cart to the produce aisle. Whole fruits and vegetables contain vital combinations of vitamins, minerals and naturally occurring substances that he won’t find in a pill – combinations that are probably more effective in promoting health and well-being.
2. Fruits and veggies reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke: Is there a history of heart disease in your husband’s family? A 14-year study of almost 110,000 men and women showed that the higher the average daily intake of fruits and vegetables, the lower the chances of developing cardiovascular disease. People who ate an average of 8 or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day were 30 percent less likely to have had a heart attack or stroke than people who ate 1.5 servings a day.
3. Produce brings down the pressure: How’s your husband’s blood pressure? A famous study called the “DASH” study (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) evaluated the effects of a diet that was rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products, and low in saturated and total fat. The results showed that the DASH diet reduced blood pressure as much as medications could.
4. Fruits and vegetables may lower his risk of cancer: Multiple studies suggest that a high intake of fruits and non-starchy vegetables (such as leafy greens, broccoli, cabbage, garlic and onions) is associated with a lower incidence of prostate cancer and other cancers.
5. Fruits and vegetables could help him lose weight: Substituting fruits and vegetables for higher-calorie foods (for example, substituting a bag of baby carrots for a bag of chips) is a great way to shed unwanted pounds without going hungry.
6. Fruits and veggies are nature’s energy food: Instead of another cup of coffee or an energy drink, maybe your husband just needs to eat his veggies. Some popular diets have labeled carbohydrates as “bad” foods, but they are actually the body’s preferred source of energy. Simple carbohydrates, such as fruits and non-starchy vegetables, will provide your husband with quick energy, while complex carbohydrates, such squash, pumpkin, carrots, and your husband’s favorites – potatoes – will help fuel his body and keep him going.
7. Fiber is fabulous: Does your husband have any problems with constipation or other digestive issues? Whole fruits and vegetables are an excellent source of dietary fiber, which helps reduce constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulosis and other digestive problems.
8. Veggies are good for vision: Your husband may be familiar with the connection between carrots and night vision, but other fruits and vegetables will protect his eye sight as he gets older, as well. Dark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach and kale, and brightly colored fruits and vegetables, such as corn, squash, kiwi and grapes, contain pigments that help protect the eyes from two common age-related problems: cataracts and macular degeneration.
9. Vitamin A is A-OK: Sweet potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, spinach, mustard greens, kale, collard greens, squash, cantaloupe and red peppers are great sources of vitamin A. In addition to protecting your husband’s vision, getting more vitamin A will help keep his skin healthy and will protect him against infections.
10. Produce provides lots of vitamin C: Studies suggest that vitamin C may reduce the severity of colds, strengthen the immune system, help in wound healing, protect against heart disease…the more we learn about it, the more important this nutrient appears to be. Vitamin C is found in abundance in citrus fruits, red and green peppers, kiwi, strawberries, sweet potatoes, kale, cantaloupe, broccoli, pineapple, Brussels sprouts, mangoes, tomatoes and cauliflower.
Aside from these health benefits, fruits and vegetables are portable and convenient, they require little or no preparation, you can grow them yourself, and they’re delicious. You’ll find lots of ideas for cooked and raw preparations at www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org. We’ve also included lots of recipes loaded with vegetables in our Oregon Guide to Heart Healthy Living. Here’s one that’s quick, easy and delicious:
Mashed Curry Cauliflower
1 medium cauliflower, about 6-inch diameter
1 tablespoon cream cheese, fat-free
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon curry powder
Cut cauliflower into small pieces.
In a steamer basket, cook cauliflower over boiling water until a knife easily pierces the stems, about 10 minutes. Drain well.
Place hot cooked cauliflower and remaining ingredients in a food processor and process to the texture of mashed potatoes. Serve warm.
No one is saying that your husband has to give up his meat and potatoes – but for better health, he could eat smaller portions of those and fill out his plate with fruits and vegetables. For a change of pace, he could have a sweet potato instead of a regular potato. He also could try making shish kabobs, alternating his meat and potatoes with colorful peppers and onions on a skewer.
Keep trying new salads and recipes until you and your husband find some preparations that he likes and is willing to eat. Then try another, and another…
All the evidence suggests that he’ll live a longer, healthier life if he eats more fruits and vegetables. If he won’t do it for himself, ask him to do it for the two of you.
