In any healthy eating guideline, fruits and vegetables play a key role. In addition to being tasty, they are packed with essential vitamins and minerals, a variety of phytochemicals – natural plant substances – and fiber, which are essential for good health. These nutrients also act as powerful antioxidants and protect us from harmful free radicals.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that we eat at least five servings, or 400 grams, of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables per day, meaning that just over a third of the food we eat each day should be fruit and vegetables. Health authorities recognize that by doing so, we reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases and help ensure an adequate daily intake of dietary fiber.
These recommendations were above all a response to the numerous studies that have been carried out on this type of food and which demonstrate that they are essential products in a balanced and healthy diet because their consumption helps to reduce the risk of developing certain diseases, such as high blood pressure, obesity or heart disease.
According to a study published in “The Lancet”, and after analyzing health data from more than 135,000 people on five continents for about seven years, experts concluded that people who eat three to four servings of fruits and vegetables combined during the day are 22% less likely to die than those who only eat one.
We see then that the general recommendations tell us that we should consume at least five portions of fruits and vegetables per day. But how do we know how much a portion of fruit or vegetable costs? Is a fruit a portion? We should see it according to the fruits and vegetables.
What is a ration?
We already know that fruits and vegetables should be very present in our daily diet. The question is how to translate the quantities recommended by experts into pieces or portions without the scale becoming our unconditional companion to know the exact quantity.
The answer is given to us by the Association for the Promotion of the Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables, known as 5 a day, whose scientific committee published the Document on the size of portions of fruits and vegetables for dietary guides. According to this document, a portion of fruits and vegetables would be equivalent to approximately 140-150 grams, which leads us to deduce that an average fruit and a small plate of vegetables constitute a portion. Therefore, five portions would be equivalent to approximately 700 to 750 grams.
Therefore, a portion of fruit would be equivalent to one medium piece of pear, apple or banana; one slice of melon or pineapple; two or three medium pieces of apricots or figs; four or five medlars, about eight strawberries or a plate of dessert cherries. In quantities, this would be about 130-140 grams of fruits and vegetables and about 30 grams of dried fruits.
As for vegetables, the quantities must be calculated differently. Thus, a small plate of cooked vegetables such as chard or green beans is considered a portion; a large plate of lettuce; one medium tomato; four medium artichokes or six thin asparagus spears.
From 5 a day, they make an interesting differentiation between ration and portion. Although in the case of fruits and vegetables, both are similar, the quantities are very different for leafy vegetables, whose volume plays an important role in deciding the amount consumed. He illustrates this with a portion of lettuce, which would weigh about 70 to 80 grams, while the amount of a portion would be about 150 grams.
Of course, all fresh fruits and vegetables count. But also frozen, dried and canned, which should not be feared to reach this goal of five daily portions. But, on the other hand, fruit juices and smoothies made from 100% fruit, even if sugar is not added, do not count because they are a source of free sugar, which it is recommended to reduce.
How can we add more fruits and vegetables to our meals?
Now that we know how much fruit and vegetables we should eat, we take the opportunity to discover some of the best ways to achieve this amount without too much effort or complications.
We can start by making the main meal revolve around vegetables, adding an extra serving of vegetables or a side salad to each main course and replacing some of the meat with legumes and filling half of our plate rainbow, adding three different colored vegetables to our dinner and even adding different types of fruits and vegetables to staple preparations like sandwiches or stews.
It will also help us use fruits and vegetables in different sauces and dressings, such as a vegetable sauce to include in a pasta dish.
Another good way is to leave the fruits prepared and ready to eat, along with the vegetables and fruits already peeled and washed in the refrigerator so that when hunger strikes us, we have them in sight and ready to eat. In this way, we can prepare snacks of fruits and vegetables to use as snacks, such as carrot or apple sticks.
What happens if we eat more fruits and vegetables than recommended?
In this case, and according to a study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, the more, the better. According to the research, although five servings reduce the risk of disease, the greatest benefit comes from consuming 800 grams per day, which would be equivalent to about ten servings.
After analyzing up to two million people and evaluating up to 43,000 cases of heart disease, 47,000 cases of stroke, 81,000 cases of cardiovascular disease, 112,000 cases of cancer and 94,000 deaths, experts conclude that nearly eight million premature deaths could be avoided worldwide if we consume 800 grams of fruits and vegetables per day.
But what if we already struggle to reach five servings? Even if we are one of those people, there is hope: the study also recognizes that even a daily intake of 200 grams is also associated with a 16% reduction in the risk of heart disease, an 18% reduction in the risk of stroke, and 13% suffer from cardiovascular disease.
