by Lori Voth

Created on: June 15, 2007   Last Updated: September 05, 2010

Study Shows Americans Deprived of Fruits and Veggies: How to Make Healthy Eating More Fun.

Research from John Hopkins recently concluded that most Americans were not getting enough fruits and vegetables in their diet to get the right vitamins and minerals to achieve optimal health, prevent diseases and promote weight control. In response to the discovery, the Center for Diseases Control (CDC) and Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) have organized a campaign. Titled appropriately as "Fruits and Veggies- More Matters", the campaign encourages consumers to add more produce to their diet on a daily basis. Significantly more.

How much is significantly more, many people are wondering? Conveniently, the CDC and other organizations involved with the Fruits and Veggies- More Matters Campaign have developed an online fruits and vegetables calculator. The calculator is designed to accurately tell you how many fruits and veggies you need to maintain optimal health, according to age, gender and level of physical activity. See how many fruits and veggies you need to start putting in your diet here: http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/

Since eating more fruits and vegetables has been declared a national public issue of concern, many businesses and organizations in the food and health industries have jumped at this opportunity to promote their services and other relevant behaviors such as more produce purchases, flavorful recipes using fruits and veggies and other varieties of fun, and healthy ways to eat better.

Many people find it difficult and even boring sometimes to make eating more fruits and vegetables a primary concern. Fortunately, though, in light of the Fruits and Veggies-More Matters Campaign, there are some great ideas floating around to help make eating healthy a little bit more simple and fun. Here are a few of the better ones:

*Purchase fruits and veggies that are in season. This will not only allow you to get the produce at their best quality occasions, but this also means the items will very likely be on sale. The fruits and veggies in season during Spring include the following:
Artichoke
Asparagus
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Garlic
Mushrooms
Navel oranges
Peas
Salad greens
Vidalia onions

*Add a variety of fruit to your morning breakfast or daytime snack by adding blueberries, strawberries, or bananas to your favorite cereal.

*Similarly, add strawberries, bananas, raspberries, blueberries, even blackberries or apples to add some healthy natural sweetness

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