You need at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, says experts
Photo by Edceee/Unsplash | Illustrations by Lara Intong
Food trends come and go, but fruits and vegetables are timeless. Ask any expert and they’ll always tell you to get more vegetables and fruits into your diet. Unless you’re actively trying to incorporate it into your meals, you’re most likely not getting your daily servings.
According to the US Dietary Guidelines, you need around five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Naturally, your daily quota depends on your age, lifestyle, and daily calorie intake but generally, you need at least five servings a day. That translates to two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables.
Naturally, your daily quota depends on your age, lifestyle, and daily calorie intake but generally, you need at least five servings a day. That translates to two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables
When you don’t meet your daily quota, you end up with nutrient deficiency, which leads to a whole lot of diseases that are just too many to list down. It also means you’re more likely to gain weight and have high blood pressure. A study also found that people who ate seven or more servings of fruits and vegetables are 42 percent less likely to die.
It can be pretty hard to estimate how much one serving really is, so here’s a short list of what one serving looks like.
Fruits
One banana
Eight large strawberries
One apple
20 cherry tomatoes
One orange
One mango
Two kiwis
One grapefruit
Half cup diced pineapple
Half an avocado
36 grapes
Vegetables
One bell pepper
Two cups raw kale
Two cups raw spinach
One cup green peas
Eight spears of asparagus
12 baby carrots
One ear of corn
One-half large acorn squash
Five broccoli florets
One potato
