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| home : how we can help : prevention, screening, & diagnostics : answers to cancer : diet & nutrition
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Q: The recommendation is to eat 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day. I do not like vegetables. Is it O.K. to eat at least 5 fruit servings a day and not eat any vegetables?
A: The answer to this question relates not only to the recommendation regarding fruits and vegetables but also to the recommendation regarding eating a variety of foods.
It is true that the fruits and vegetables are grouped together because both groups share many of the same nutrients; they are rich in vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber.
Many of them are especially rich in carotenoids, vitamin C, folate, and potassium. Some specific vegetables are good sources of B vitamins, calcium and iron. However, every fruit and vegetable has a unique combination of nutrients; some of these nutrients or dietary components have not even been identified, yet may be very beneficial to health.
We do know that many vegetables, particularly dark leafy green vegetables are high in folate and citrus fruits are high in vitamin C; these nutrients may be especially important in cancer prevention.
Some studies have pointed to green vegetables as being particularly important in breast cancer prevention.
The answer to your question is that it is important for you to eat a variety of both fruits and vegetables, in fact it is probably ideal to try to include three servings of vegetables each day.
The good news for you is that you may be getting vegetables in your diet that you are unaware of, such as tomatoes in tomato, spaghetti, or pasta sauce or tomato based soup.
Also many soups, salads and mixed dishes contain a variety of vegetables and are good vehicles for adding more vegetables to your diet, perhaps in a more tolerable and inconspicuous way to you.
Often people, including children prefer the taste of raw, rather than cooked, vegetables.
Raw carrots, cucumbers, green beans or green pepper, with a little lowfat salad dressing for dip, can be a tasty snack or meal accompaniment.
Try different vegetables and different ways of preparing them until you find the taste acceptable to you. As with many foods or things in life, the more we expose ourselves to new or different things, we gradually adapt to them , and become tolerant and accepting or them.
This is certainly true with children and their food preferences. Repetition over time can lead to familiarity and acceptance of new foods, even vegetables.
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