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Fruit and Veg: for a Longer Life Eat 10 a Day

  • February 23, 2017

If you needed another reason to add more fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet, then Imperial College London has done a study showing that even small amounts of additional fruit and veggie intake can help reduce your risk of cancer and heart disease, BBC.com reports. The study pooled 95 separate studies showing the link.

If eating 10 fruits and vegetables a day, as the referenced article suggests, seems daunting, know that you don’t have to change your eating habits all in one day. What’s important is that you maintain a good balance in your choices, as fruits contain fructose, which too much of can undermine all your good intentions.

Another big and easy step for switching to a mostly fruit-and-veggie diet is to simply give up processed foods — that alone will force you to look to fresh foods for satiety and nourishment. So what kinds of fruits and veggies are best? Begin with color, and choose dark green veggies, such as broccoli and broccoli sprouts, Brussels sprouts, arugula and watercress, and work your way around the rainbow of foods.

Purple cabbage, onions, beets and eggplant are also good, as are brightly colored peppers in yellows, greens and reds.

As for fruits, colorful berries can be a good choice, as well as pineapple, cantaloupe, grapes and watermelon. Whatever your pick, be sure to opt for organically grown foods that have no hormone-disrupting, potentially cancer-causing pesticides used in their production. Look for certified organic labels in your grocery or buy from local farmers markets that offer organic foods.