Study shows too few eating fruits and vegetables

Here are some excerpts from an article I read recently. My brief comments are in italics:

Source: Daniel Yee, Associated Press (Full article)

Fewer than a third of American adults eat the amount of fruits and vegetables the government recommends, a trend that's remained steady for more than a decade, health officials said Thursday.

That's "well below" the government's goal of getting 75 percent of Americans to eat two servings of fruits and having half of the population consume three servings of vegetables each day by 2010, said Dr. Larry Cohen of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Although the rate of fruit and vegetable consumption has remained unchanged since 1994, health officials said the goal is still within reach.

Ok, is it just me, or does that seem a little unrealistic? Unless there's a radical shift in the thinking of most Americans, how in the world do they think that they can possibly reach this goal?

"We have more work to do over the next few years," said spokeswoman Rachel Ciccarone.

I think she wins the award for the understatement of the year...

Specifically the survey showed that 27 percent of adults ate vegetables three times a day, and about 33 percent ate fruit twice a day. A serving size is a half-cup for most fruits and vegetables, one cup for leafy greens.

The federal agency said it doesn't know why people aren't eating more veggies or fruits.

Susan Krause, a clinical dietitian at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, said people are eating more refined sugars or choosing protein instead of fruits and vegetables.

"There's so much information out there and people get very confused. When they're looking at protein, they feel that's the solution when they're not looking at long-term health benefits," she said. "There's so many fabricated foods now and people are looking at convenience."

I'd say there's so much mis-information out there, deliberately designed to get people very confused. There's a number of folks who stand to profit from selling unhealthy items to the public and there's even more who will profit from the ill-health of the population that results.

If you need help cutting through the clutter and improving your food choices - send me an email at info@actingconsciously.com to set up a free exploratory coaching session.

Today's wisdom: Not only are fruits and vegetables lower-calorie, they also have minerals and fiber that help guard against chronic diseases and cancer, the CDC says. So I say, "Eat more fruits and vegetables!" Enjoy!