How Fruits & Vegetables Create Health

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There’s good news and bad news on the fruits and veggie front.  The good news is that there definitely seems to be increased awareness of the importance of consuming fruits and vegetables.  How do I know this?  More and more commercials and ads are stressing the fact that their food contains a full serving of fruits and/or vegetables. Of course these products are such things as canned meat sauce, sugary cereals and enriched beverages.  Not the best choices but the emphasis confirms that as a society we do know the importance of these foods and marketing companies are playing to it.

I thought I would shed some facts on how to best get one’s daily recommendation of fruits and vegetables, why it’s important and some simple ways to accomplish it.  (Sorry but I won’t be recommending any of the products you see on TV or in magazine ads.)

Whether you’re gluten intolerant or not, I think this particular post has universal benefit for most Americans.  Simply said, we fail miserably in eating our vegetables!

A comment about drinking one’s fruits and veggies vs. eating them: Unless you have a juicer that retains all the fiber and pulp, drinking fruits and vegetables loses much of the benefit found within these vital foods. I recommend drinking purified water, green or white tea but eating your fruits and vegetables.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that a serving size for fruit or vegetables is equal to about half a cup. Greens like spinach and lettuce have a serving size of one cup. One serving of sliced fruit is equal to one-half cup; however a single piece of fruit, such as an apple or an orange counts as one serving. How did the USDA decide half a cup being a serving size? It was based on the portion sizes that people typically eat and the nutritional content of fruits and vegetables.

Health experts suggest that depending on our age and activity level we should eat a total of 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Children, teenage girls, most men and active women should eat at least 4 servings of vegetables and 3 servings of fruit every day – that is 7 total servings. Teen boys and active men should eat at least 5 servings of vegetables and 4 servings of fruit – that is 9 total servings. Unfortunately many people fail to eat even a small fraction of that recommendation.

Fruits and vegetables contain important vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, antioxidants and fiber. They are usually low in calories as well. Generally speaking, those with the most color -- green, red, yellow, and orange -- have the highest nutrient content. Organic produce is by far the best choice in that they contain the highest quantities of these beneficial nutrients.

The unique substances found only in fruits and vegetables can help provide detoxification, immune support and prevention of many diseases. They are naturally anti-inflammatory which is important in helping to prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Eating at least 7 to 9 servings of vegetables and fruits each day may be less daunting when you see how small one serving is: 

• 1/2 cup of sliced fruit
• 1 medium piece of fruit – about the size of a tennis ball
• 1 cup of leafy vegetables – this would be 4 large leaves of lettuce or the size of a baseball.
• 1/2 cup of cooked or raw vegetables

VEGETABLE SERVINGS: SIZES

• Asparagus, fresh - 5 spears
• Avocado Half
• Broad beans - 3 heaping tbsp (1/2 cup)
• Broccoli - 2 large florets
• Brussels sprouts - 8
• Cabbage - 3 heaping tbsp shredded, (1/2 cup)
• Carrots - 1 large
• Celery - 3 sticks
• Cherry tomatoes - 7
• Chickpeas - See Pulses
• Curly kale - 4 tbsp (1/2 cup)
• Eggplant - One-third of a large one
• French beans - 4 heaping tbsp (1/2 cup)
• Kidney beans - See Pulses
• Lentils - See pulses
• Mixed salad - Cereal bowl full (1 cup)
• Mushrooms, button - 14
• Onion - 1 medium
• Parsnip - 1 large
• Peas, fresh - 3 heaping tbsp (1/2 cup)
• Potatoes - Never count towards your daily vegetable servings, in any form
• Pulses, cooked: kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils etc  - 3 heaping tbsp (1/2 cup)
• Salad leaves, lettuce etc - Cereal bowl full (1 cup)
• Scallions - 8
• Snowpeas - Handful
• Spinach, cooked - 2 heaping tbsp (1/2 cup)
• Spring onions - 8
• Sugarsnap peas - Handful
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Vegetable soup - 1 serving of fresh or canned soup
• Vegetable sticks - Handful of mixed - celery, pepper, carrot etc
• Zucchini - Half a large one

FRUIT SERVINGS: SIZES

• Apple, fresh 1 medium
• Banana 1 medium
• Blackberries Handful
• Clementines 2
• Cherries, fresh 14
• Figs, fresh 2
• Fruit salad, fresh  3 heaped tbsp, (1/2 cup)
• Kiwi 2
• Grapefruit Half
• Grapes Handful
• Mango 2 slices
• Melon 1 large slice
• Peach, fresh 1 medium
• Pear 1 medium
• Pineapple, canned 2 rings
• Pineapple, fresh 1 large slice
• Plums 2 medium
• Nectarine 1 medium
• Raspberries 2 handfuls
• Strawberries 7

Healthy Tips for Getting Your Daily Serving of Fruits & Vegetables

 1:  Enjoy fruit for dessert. In season, fruit can taste like “candy”. Eating seasonally not only provides variety, but you can get organic varieties that provide higher nutritional value. Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, citrus and pomegranate are all excellent choices.

 2: When cooking a main dish add some extra grated or chopped vegetables. Those that will add nutrients and vitamins include organic carrots, zucchinis, broccoli, bell peppers, mushrooms and onions.

 3: When the afternoon munchies hit, reach for a quick but healthy snack. Opt for a small bowl of cherries, berries or apple and a handful of nuts or some nut butter. Or try some of your favorite sliced vegetables with a healthy olive oil and vinegar dressing. A hardboiled egg is another possible addition for additional protein.

4: Eat a few servings of green vegetable every day. An organic dark and leafy green vegetable is recommended. Choose from dark green lettuce, chard, kale, spinach, asparagus, broccoli and cabbage to begin. If you haven’t tried them since you were a kid– give them one more shot. If you sauté or steam them lightly such that they are still bright green and a little firm and top with some organic butter and seasonings, you may be presently surprised. Adding onions, garlic and mushrooms can create a nice flavorful medley.

5: When eating out ask for an extra serving of vegetables. When they arrive eat them first. If there isn’t a vegetable served with the meal, ask for a salad.

6: Keep a bowl of fresh fruits and veggies on the kitchen counter. 

7: If time is a consideration, try the prewashed, precut organic vegetables at the grocery store.

I hope you find this helpful. I truly can’t think of a better health recommendation than dramatically increasing your consumption of these vitally nutritious foods.

Visit us at www.RootCauseMedicalClinic.com. If you have questions or need any help, I’m here for you! Call 408-733-0400.

I look forward to hearing from you.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen, DC, CCN, CFMP


IFM Certified Practitioner

Founder of Root Cause Medical Clinic
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

Author of the eBook: “Gluten Intolerance – What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You!”

If Food is Information – Gluten Brings “Bad News”

[This is an edited version of the first article by this name that I posted. In the first edition I made an error – yes, I’m human too. An astute reader pointed it out and I thank her for it. Sometimes in our passion to bring news about a certain subject we can rush to interpretation too quickly. The accurate account now stands. –Dr.Vikki]

As clinicians we like to talk to our patients about food being fuel. Whether or not you love what you’re eating foods’ ultimate purpose is to fuel your body. An intact small intestine breaks down the food into fuel, and that fuel is delivered to all your cells via your bloodstream. The cells, now well fed, can do their respective jobs.

But food is more than just “fuel” it is “information”. On a gross level we could divide foods into two categories: pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory. Pro-inflammatory foods give information to the body that causes it to break down and develop disease states. Support for this statement is found in the 2009 article published in Cancer Research, [69(11):4827-4834] titled “Intestinal mucosal inflammation leads to systemic genotoxicity in mice”. In this study it was found that mucosal (cells lining the gut) inflammation contributes early on to genetic instability necessary for progression and development of colorectal cancer.

Anti-inflammatory foods protect the body and allow it to heal and maintain health. In this category we find the foods that are high in anti-oxidants such as fruits and vegetables.

Gluten is a pro-inflammatory food in affected individuals. The information it brings to the body is that of damage and destruction and a forwarding of disease. But when we remove gluten from our diet should we remove all grains? Must we be cautious of getting our complex carbohydrates in sufficient quantity from fruits, vegetables, legumes, beans and perhaps whole gluten-free grains? While the article I’m about to cite only examined 10 people, the results were interesting.

In 2009 (May 18)the British Medical Journal published an article titled “Effects of a Gluten-Free Diet on Gut Microbiota and Immune Function in Healthy Adult Human Subjects.”. [As you may recall, “microbiota” refers to the population of indigenous microorganisms found in our intestines.] In this article the authors state that
most celiac patients treated and untreated with a gluten-free diet have unbalanced microbiota that can play a pathogenic [disease-causing] role that may constitute a risk factor for celiac.

The objective of the study was to analyze the impact of a gluten-free diet on the composition and immune function in healthy subjects to gain insights into the interactions between diet and gut microbes.

The results suggest that a gluten-free diet may influence not only the composition but also the immune function of the gut microbiota in healthy individuals, without the influence of any underlying disease, parallel with reductions in polysaccharide intake. When these 10 “normal”, non-gluten sensitive individuals were put on a gluten-free diet for 30 days their gut microbiota was found to be less healthy after the gluten-free diet than it was prior.

Now the authors state that while the diet of the subjects was not much changed, their polysaccharide content (complex carbohydrates) was reduced. We all know the importance of getting enough fiber in the diet to maintain a balanced and healthy microbiota. And even in my obvious gluten-sensitive patients, the initial few weeks of removing gluten often results in increased constipation due to a loss of fiber from the previous gluten-containing diet. So you understand my healthy skepticism after seeing this article. I think the ultimate conclusion of this article is flawed based on the fact that the studied subjects did not replace the gluten in their diet with adequate healthy fiber.

So the takeaway is this: if you’re gluten-free, please don’t negate the importance of the healthy fiber found in fruits, vegetables and other forms of complex carbohydrates. I also think that everyone should consume about 20 billion CFU (colony forming units) of a variety of probiotics each day. This is easily accomplished via 1 or 2 capsules and is quite important in those who have suffered from a leaky or damaged small intestine. It may very well help you to keep a healthy balanced microbiota that is anti-inflammatory in nature.

Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen
Founder of HealthNOW Medical CenterCo-author of “The Gluten Effect”