Thread: 3 fruits and veggies a day

More like 2-3 servings of fruit and 4-6 servings of veggies.

Yes keep in mind fruit is the best natural source of complex carbohydrates, but are carbs none the less and should be taken into that account. Vegitibles with a good amount of diversity should be consumed almost every meal, and should be the majority of the meal. (barring of course the post work out protein shakes etc)

wow. i gotta eat more veggies. i only eat 1-2 servs. a day.

Yeah and make sure it's a wide variety, that's the best way to ensure you're maximizing your beneficial nutrient intake.

With veggies the more colors the better. You need a variant of antioxidants.

Think of a large salad with spring mix, red peppers, green peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, celery, carrots, olives, red cabbage etc....

Yikes! This is tough for people that don't LOVE veggies! I tend to eat the same fruits ands veggies over and over because they are the few that I actually like.... apsaragus, zucchini and the occassional broccoli.... my salads are always just raw spinach w/some protein.. and I've been eating strawberries as almost my sole source of fruit!

Be careful with the amount of raw spinach you eat....oxalates can block heme iron

Originally Posted by Jodi

Be careful with the amount of raw spinach you eat....oxalates can block heme iron

How much spinach is too much?

More than a cup a day.

wow really? can you elaborate on the negative effects?

I get it cheap at the farmers market and go through a half kilo in a week

However, spinach contains high levels of oxalate. Oxalates bind to iron to form ferrous oxalate and remove iron from the body. Therefore, a diet high in oxalate (or phosphate or phytate) leads to a decrease in iron absorption.

Spinach - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Originally Posted by Jodi

Be careful with the amount of raw spinach you eat....oxalates can block heme iron

UGH!!! And here I thought I was doing a good thing by stuffing down lots of spinach!

I'm learning a little something every time I read this board. But, I see I have A LOT to learn.

Since I'm just really getting started in trying to change my lifestyle and eat better, I'm hoping that the changes I've made so far are doing more good than harm! And I'll just keep tweaking the diet until I get something close to "perfect".

Try other things too like arugula or a spring mix. You can also use collard greens, mustard greens, beet greens and dandelion leaves to make a salad.

Originally Posted by Jodi

dandelion leaves to make a salad.

Dandelion is a great herb. It assist in weight low, cleanse your skin, improves your bowel function (constipation and diarrhea), helps prevent or lower high blood pressure, prevents anemia, lower your serum cholesterol, reduces acid indigestion, acts as a natural diuretic, helps liver function and helps prevent or control diabetes.