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| home : how we can help : prevention, screening, & diagnostics : answers to cancer : diet & nutrition
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You are well aware of the health value of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, but just how many vegetables should you eat a day and which ones are best? The National Cancer Institute recommends 5 Š A- Day which includes both fruits and vegetables. Certainly our population would be much healthier if everyone achieved this goal. Less than 20% of the population now eats a combination of 5 fruits and vegetables a day. But some scientists believe that more than 5 a day may even be better and recommend about nine servings a day. This would include 5 servings of vegetables and 4 servings of fruits. As weÕve discussed before, variety is the key because different vegetables and fruits contain different combinations of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Remember, supplements cannot take the place of these nutrient-rich foods; supplements canÕt replicate all the beneficial substances that whole foods contain. In addition, there is no evidence that you can get toxic levels of nutrients by eating foods, but you certainly can from supplements. Below is a system for maximizing your nutrient intake with a specified number of daily selections from subcategories of vegetables.
One serving = 1/2 cup raw or cooked vegetables, 1 cup raw leafy vegetables (such as lettuce, spinach)
* Starred vegetables have a higher carbohydrate content
You may substitute an extra serving of yellow, green or red vegetables
for 1 serving of other vegetables, but not visa versa
YELLOW-ORANGE VEGETABLES
1 serving/day
Carrot,
Carrot juice
Spaghetti squash
Sweet red/yellow pepper, raw
* Pumpkin, cooked
* pie (additional fat)
* Sweet potato, yam
*Winter squash
(orange inside such as acorn or butternut)
RED VEGETABLES
1 serving/day
Catsup (2 T.)
Gazpacho
Guava
Tomato,
Tomato juice
Tomato paste (2Tbsp)
* Tomato soup
Tomato sauce
V-8 juice
Salsa
*Spaghetti sauce
* Watermelon
* Pink grapefruit
OTHER VEGETABLES
2 servings/day
Artichoke
Asparagus
Avocado
Bean sprouts, mung
Beets, cooked, raw or pickled
Cabbage, cooked
Cabbage, raw
Cauliflower, cooked or raw
* Corn
* Corn on cob, medium
Cucumber
Eggplant
Green beans, wax, Italian
Green pepper
Kohlrabi
Lettuce, iceberg
Mixed vegetables
Mushrooms
Onions
Pickle
Pea pods
* Plantain
* Potato, baked or boiled
*Potato, mashed
Radish
Rhubarb
Sauerkraut
Turnip, cooked
*Vegetable soup
Waterchestnuts, canned
GREEN VEGETABLES
1 serving/day
Broccoli,
Brussel sprouts
Celery
Celery, 7" stalk
Chard leaves
Chinese cabbage (bok choi)
Green onions
Greens, all types
Fresh herbs: chives, dill, parsley,
watercress (4 T.)
Kale
Leeks
Lettuce: romaine, red leaf,
endive, escarole
Okra
*Peas, green
*Spinach
Squash (yellow, zucchini)
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