Are You Eating Your Veggies?

Did you eat all your vegetables? Did you eat any of your vegetables? Don't look at me like that. According to statistics – reliable statistics – you're not and that has people worried.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in last week's cheerfully named Morbidity and Mortality Weekly that American adults are simply not eating their veggies, or much fruit, either. The study, titled Healthy People 2010, found that in 2009 efforts to get the public to eat the recommended daily allowance of at least two servings of fruit and at least three of vegetables fell flat. Over all, not a single state hit the target numbers, although some did better than others (We're very proud of you Tennessee but you, South Dakota, should really be trying harder).

The report states "in 2009, an estimated 32.5% of adults consumed fruit two or more times per day and 26.3% consumed vegetables three or more times per day, far short of the national targets. Overall, the proportion of adults who met the fruit target declined slightly, but significantly, from 34.4% in 2000 to 32.5% in 2009…"

The kicker? Since 2000, when

the CDC began tracking this information, numbers for both categories have actually fallen. In other words, people are eating even less fruit and vegetables now than they were 10 years ago. For San Francisco dietician Norae Ferrara, that's disappointing news but not terribly surprising. People are busier than they've ever been, she said and, as a result, they're reaching for processed convenience foods under the mistaken notion they're cheaper and easier than fresh foods.

"Most of the time, people are dealing with being overweight," said Ferrara of her clients."They're running like mad all day and not eating well." A medical dietician and owner of the San Francisco Nutrition Clinic, Ferrara works with patients on several areas of nutrition counseling, from coping with binge eating to fertility and cardiovascular nutrition.

When adult patients come in to see her, she said, they're usually ready for the admonition to include more fruits and vegetables in their diets. Children, she added, are another issue. They're not getting much guidance from their parents and school lunches make matters even worse, she said. "They're not eating any fruits and vegetables during the school day."

By the time the evening rolls around, dinner is an "afterthought" Ferrara said. A typical meal might consist of protein and a starch but vegetables are rarely to be seen. It doesn't have to be that way.

Ferrara is a big fan of frozen fruits and vegetables. They're "so easy to have ready at any moment and there's nothing added to them," she said. There's another big plus: often enough, frozen fruits and veggies actually have more nutrients than their fresh counterparts in the produce section. Why? Frozen produce is frozen immediately after harvest, preserving their nutrients, whereas fresh fruits and vegetables – ironically enough – experience a delay of up to several days before they hit your plate. During that time, they begin to lose valuable vitamins as well as flavor.

Ultimately, eating right takes planning, said Ferrara. Even if you're not inclined to sit down and plan out your menu for the week - "Who sits down and thinks about what they're going to eat?," she asked – you have to make the commitment to including more produce in your diet.

Do you want your kids to eat more fruits and vegetables? They'll do it if they see you doing it. Some people blame the kids, Ferrara said. "I put them out and they don't eat them," they tell her, but they will if you cut the fruit up and prepare it. What about desserts or snack foods made with fruits and vegetables, such as zucchini bread or apple pie?

"A serving of fruit is three-quarters of a cup, and a serving of vegetable is half a cup cooked, or one cup raw," she said. "So, you would have to eat a lot of bread to make it work, or a very large piece of apple pie. Technically, yes, it could count, and zucchini bread is better for you than bread without zucchini, but it is not a recommendation I would support, as the negative health effects of eating too many calories or too much sugar are so detrimental."

Getting more fruits and vegetables into your diet doesn't have to be a struggle.

"It's just a lack of understanding of the benefits," Ferrara said. "You actually feel better when you eat more fruits and vegetables."

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