Medical science reminds us almost every day that good nutrition and good health go hand in hand,
especially when it comes to the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables. Researchers continue to
find nutritional elements in fruits and vegetables – vitamins and other antioxidants, phytonutrients,
and fiber – that support our immune systems, improve cardiovascular wellness, delay aging, and contribute
to health and longevity in other ways. The thousands of nutrients found in fruits and
vegetables work together in ways that science is just beginning to explore.
This has led health authorities, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National
Cancer Institute, the American Heart Association, and the United States Department of Agriculture, to
recommend that adults eat at least 7-13 servings of fruits and vegetables every day for better health.
Unfortunately, despite the growing medical evidence, only an estimated 11% of American adults – and
an even smaller percentage of our children – eat the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables.
It’s hard to do. Fast food drive-thrus and all-you-can-eat buffets lurk on every corner. Grabbing a bag of chips
and a can of soda at the convenience store is certainly a lot easier than peeling an orange or tossing a salad.
Largely as a result of our poor diets, Americans suffer a higher incidence of degenerative diseases than
people just about anyplace else in the world. Eighty million Americans have some form of heart disease,
and twenty million have diabetes.
Everyone agrees: we need to eat more fruits and vegetables… Best day ever, Bobby
