Different fruits and vegetables contain different nutrients. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines recommend that adults eat at least five kinds of vegetable and two kinds of fruit every day. Results from a national nutrition survey indicate that people of all ages do not eat enough vegetables and fruit.
Children have a smaller stomach capacity and higher energy needs. They will not be able to eat the same serving sizes as adults; however, they should be encouraged to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables and start good practices early in life. By eating well, your children will have the energy they need to play, concentrate better, learn, sleep better and build stronger teeth and bones. Building good habits in the early years can also provide the protection of a healthy diet throughout their lives.
Vegetables and fruit contain phytochemicals, or ‘plant chemicals’. These biologically active substances can help to protect you from some diseases. Scientific research shows that if you regularly eat lots of fruit and vegetables, you have a lower risk of:
Type 2 diabetes
Stroke
Heart (cardiovascular) disease – when fruits and vegetables are eaten as food, not taken as supplements
Thank you for sharing this post, Daphne! Fruits and vegetables are indeed very important. It's sad that I had to know that a little later. Well, it's my fault. I am a picky-eater, especially when I was young. The fingers on your hands are enough to count the only fruits and vegetables back then.. But I am happy that I am eating heaps now. And what's great is that I eat them more frequently now than before.
It's a little hard to get kids to eat fruits and vegetables. But we should be patient enough and do our best to get them to eat more healthy foods.
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What are stumbling blocks and defeat before you, can be stepping stones to victory if you remain determined.
When you're a meat lover it seems so hard to eat vegetables, but once you conditioned the mind how vegetables benefit our health,
it will become a part of our daily diet.
But mind you about the "fresh" ones sold in the market these days. Most of these are contaminated with chemicals so you should be keen when you buy. Im just happy my mom and I are into farming and we grow some fruits and veggies together. I hope I can share it with you all.. :(
Are you into organic farming, Daphne? My friend tries to grow veggies in her backyard and finds it a bit challenging not to use insecticides as worms and other insects feed on the produce before they can harvest them.
Maybe the reason why organic veggies and fruits are a bit costly, huh.
you are so right, Daphne. we're all trying to eat healthily and you can't ever be sure (not even with vegetables) anymore because of all the chemicals they use to grow them (much quickly). a little unsettling, actually.
Fruits and veggies are healthy food must have a serving of these every meal. It has a lot of antioxidants that help the body fight the free radical substances that makes us prone to diseases like cancer.
