Fruit and Vegetables a Recipe for Healthy Living

November 2010

Are you among the 42% of adults in Counties Manukau who eat five or more servings of fruit and vegetables every day?

Eating at least three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit each day is recommended as an important part of a healthy diet and a healthy lifestyle. Spring is a great time to eat more fruit and vegetables each day because there are more varieties available at this time of year. You can try adding a green lettuce salad to your dinner, eating fruit as a snack or cutting up all your fruit and mixing it together for a tasty dessert! A serving of fruit or vegetables is anything that is fresh, frozen, canned or stewed and fits into the palm of your hand. One cup of salad counts as one of the five recommended daily servings.

Spring is also the perfect time to think about growing fruit and vegetables in your own backyard. New plant growth happens best at this time of the year, when the weather is warmer and the soil is ready. Beetroot, beans, carrots, lettuce, kumara, peas, potatoes, sweetcorn, taro and silverbeet can all be planted at this time. Gardening not only gives you low cost, fresh fruit and vegetables for the dinner table but is also a great way of getting some physical activity and spending quality time with family and friends.

Eating the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables each day is an important part of good health. Fruit and vegetables are better for you than processed foods or takeaways, which tend to be high in salt, sugar and fat. As part of a healthy diet, they can also help you manage your weight or lose weight, which in turn lowers your risk of developing health conditions like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. One in 12 adults in Counties Manukau has diabetes, with higher rates in our Pacific, South Asian and Maaori communities. Eating fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy diet, alongside doing more physical activity and being a healthy body weight, can help us all lower our risk of illness in future and enjoy better health today.

•  November is 5+ A Day Fruit and Vegetable month. For more information and recipe ideas, check out www.5aday.co.nz