Reduce your risk of stroke by 31%

This post was originally published as  Diary of My Fruits and Veggies by Laurel on Health Food blog.

If you really think about it, how many servings of fruits and vegetables do you actually eat every day? Most recent recommendations say we should aim for about eight to nine servings each day. However, a recent study from Harvard University found that just five daily servings will help men and women reduce their risk of stroke by 31%. A nutrition professor at the University of New Haven, Rosa Mo, RD, says that five servings a day gives you “significant antioxidants and fiber to reduce heart disease and cancer risk and keep your weight in check.”

That’s great news! However, I’d rather us think we need those eight to nine servings so we shoot for the stars. Most people probably have one piece of fruit and one (maybe two) servings of vegetables a day. There are even those who swear off fruits and vegetables all together. Sigh.

So, what’s in a single serving? Here are a few examples: 1/2 cup raw, frozen, cooked, or canned fruit or vegetables, 3/4 cup 100% fruit juice, 1 cup raw leafy greens, 1/4 cup dried fruit, one medium sized fruit.

For me, I think I do a pretty good job getting my fruits and veggies in, but like any normal person, I have my good days and bad days. So today I decided to begin a fruit and veggie diary. Instead of a diary listing ALL the foods I eat (which I find really hard to keep up with in the long term), I am going to keep track of every fruit and vegetable I eat (100% fruit juices count).

To help me out, I made a small spreadsheet and I’m keeping it in my Google docs. I split it up into different color groups so I make sure to get a variety of nutrients. You can view it here (I filled in Monday as a sample):

You can also check out this page from the Sanitarium Health Food Company to get an idea of the different color groups, examples, and what nutrition they provide.