Which Are You, Fruit Or Veggie Lover?

Eating your vegetables is one of the keys to staying healthy. Nearly everyone knows that. I normally have no problems eating at least 5 veggies a day. I love vegetables.

"Eat your fruits and vegetables" is one of the tried-and-true recommendations for a healthy diet - and for good reason. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables can help you ward off heart disease and stroke, control blood pressure and cholesterol, prevent some types of cancer, and guard against cataract and macular degeneration, two common causes of vision loss.

The major problem most people have in applying this recommendation, though, is that they only apply the first half and have the sweet fruits and not the vegetables. I guess I'm not like most people, I have to force myself to eat fruits. I have my fruits in my morning drink - this is the only way I'll eat them.

The largest and longest study to date, done as part of the Harvard-based Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study, included almost 110,000 men and women whose health and dietary habits were followed for 14 years.

The higher the average daily intake of vegetables and fruits, the lower the chances of developing cardiovascular disease. Compared with those in the lowest category of fruit and vegetable intake (less than 1.5 servings a day), those who averaged 8 or more servings a day were 30 percent less likely to have had a heart attack or stroke.

Although all fruits and vegetables likely contribute to this benefit, green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and mustard greens, and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, and kale, appear to be exceptionally healthy.

Another way you can determine if a specific vegetable is good for you is to listen to what your body tells you. If you just simply can't stand the taste of a particular vegetable then this is probably a clue that it is not good for you and should be avoided.

Also remember to get organic vegetables whenever possible, but it is better to eat non-organic vegetables than no vegetables.

For the times when I can't eat fruits and veggies, I Pop a green and purple.

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