laurend said:
I started a thread on beware of fruit portions. 5 servings of fruit is too much all you need is two or three a day. Put more emphasize on 5 or more servings of veggies. Also, go to the new food pyramid and see what a serving of fruit is a day. One large banana is two servings of fruit and 3/4 cup of juice is one serving and you know we drink more than our daily servings a day .
I'll just say this again:
I just wanted to say that it's tough for us to have too much fruits and vegetables. There are vegetarians, vegans, and raw food eaters who almost exclusively eat fruits and vegetables, and I have yet to meet an overweight vegan. I think most of us know we'd be better off if we consumed more fruits and vegetables because there would be less room for things that aren't healthy for us. Many fruits contain wonderful enzymes that aid digestion as well as nutrients exclusive to certain fruits. Vegetables are certainly important as they tend to be packed with vitamins and minerals. I think a balance of the two is the healthy. For instance, today I had 2 servings of celery, an apple, a plum, a cup of blueberries, a serving of cabbage, and a serving of carrots. This type of balance is FAR healthier than any junk food available. I'm waiting to meet the person who says they got sick and/or gained weight from eating too much fruit or too many vegetables...when put up against other foods, fruit and veggies are the holy grail.
If you have to choose a snack, and the options are Cheetos or a bowl of grapes, the grapes are a better choice...even if you've had 6 servings of fruits and vegetables that day.
From personal experience, the more fruits and vegetables I have, the better my hair, skin, nails, body, etc. A healthy diet should be done in conjunction with regular exercise anyway so I'd venture to say that the majority of women who replace junk food with fruits & vegetables and workout regularly will be healthier as a whole and will probably be able to reach an ideal weight.