Color your day with fruits and vegetables

Eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables on a daily basis provides the body with numerous vitamins, minerals, fiber and other compounds needed for a healthy lifestyle, said Janice Hermann, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service nutrition specialist.

“Fruits and vegetables in the diet are extremely important because they provide needed nutrients to help ensure good health. When the USDA unveiled MyPyramid: Steps to A Healthier You, it contained recommendations for eating even more fruits and vegetables. These foods contain nutrients that may lower your risk of certain types of cancer and heart disease.”

Fruits are shown by the red band and vegetables are indicated by the green band in the USDA MyPyramid. Just a few years ago, research indicated that 86 percent of Oklahomans did not eat enough fruits and vegetables.

Children ages 5 to 8 years old need to consume at least one to one and one-half cups of fruit and one and one-half to two and one-half cups of vegetables per day.

Older children and most adults should consume one and one half cups of fruit and two cups of vegetables per day. Teenage girls and active women are recommended to eat two cups of fruit and three cups of vegetables daily. The USDA MyPyramid recommends that teenage boys and active men eat at least two and one-half cups of fruit and three and one-half cups of vegetables every day.

Herman said getting children to eat the recommended number of servings per day can be tricky. She recommends the following suggestions:

• Let your child pick a fruit or vegetable at the grocery store.
• Let your child tell you what fruits and vegetables are in your kitchen.
• Let your child keep track of the different colors of fruits and vegetables they eat. See what different colors of fruits and vegetables they have during the week.
• Help your child make a poster of fruits and vegetables. Hang it up in the kitchen to remind them to eat fruits and vegetables each day.

“It’s important to include a rainbow of colors in your fruit and vegetables selections, including purple, green, white, yellow, orange and red,” Hermann said. “Adding a variety of color to your plate will provide needed nutrients for good health.”

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Oklahoma State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, State and Local Governments Cooperating: The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or status as a veteran, and is an equal opportunity employer.

Trisha Gedon
Communications Specialist
Agricultural Communications Services
136 Agriculture North
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK  74078
405-744-3625 (phone)
405-744-5739 (fax)
trisha.gedon@okstate.edu