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How Many Servings of Fruits and Vegetables a Day are Enough?
To some extent, how many servings of
fruits and vegetables a
day depends on who you ask, what your goals are (be healthy, survive,
lose
weight, gain muscle…), and who you are (child, adult, big, small, age…). The good news is
that the answers are usually
similar. Most would say at least two servings of fruit and three of
vegetables. They
would say that the
smaller you are the smaller the serving size. Check out what the CDC
has to say
at:
http://www.5aday.gov/
Both the American Heart Association
and the Mayo Clinic
suggest the National Institute‘s DASH diet for those who want to reduce
heart
related problems.
| Food group | Servings for a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet |
Servings for a 1,600-calorie-a-day diet |
Examples
of 1 serving | | | Grains (mainly
whole grains) | 6 to 8 a day |
6 a day |
1 slice whole-wheat bread |
|
1 ounce (oz.) dry cereal |
|
1/2 cup cooked cereal |
|
1/2 cup cooked rice or
pasta | |
1/2 English muffin or
small bagel (2 oz.) | | Fruits | 4 to 5 a day | 4 a day |
1/2 cup (4 fluid oz.)
100% fruit juice | |
1 medium fruit |
|
1/2 cup fresh, frozen or
canned fruit | |
1/4 cup dried fruit |
| Vegetables |
4 to 5 a day | 3 to 4 a day |
1/2 cup (4 fluid oz.)
low-sodium vegetable juice | |
1 cup raw leafy green
vegetables | |
1/2 cup cooked vegetables |
|
1 small potato |
|
1 sweet potato |
| Dairy foods (low-fat or fat-free) |
2 to 3 a day | 2 to 3 a day |
1 cup (8 fluid oz.) milk |
|
1 cup yogurt |
|
1 1/2 oz. cheese |
| Lean meats, poultry and fish |
6 or fewer a day | 3 to 6 a day |
1 oz. cooked lean meat,
skinless poultry or fish | |
1 egg (no more than 4 a
week) | |
2 egg whites |
| Nuts, seeds and dry beans |
4 to 5 a week | 3 a week |
1/3 cup (1.5 oz.) nuts |
|
2 tablespoons peanut
butter | |
2 tablespoons (1/2 oz.)
seeds | |
1/2 cup cooked dry beans
or peas | | Fats and oils | 2 to 3 a day | 2 a day |
1 teaspoon soft margarine |
|
1 tablespoon low-fat
mayonnaise | |
2 tablespoons light salad
dressing | |
1 teaspoon vegetable oil |
| Sweets | 5 or fewer a day | 0 |
1 tablespoon sugar |
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1 tablespoon jelly or jam |
|
1/2 cup sorbet |
|
1 cup (8 fluid oz.)
sugar-sweetened lemonade | | DASH. National Heart, Lung
and Blood Institure
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf |
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MyPyramid.gov talks about how many
cups of fruit a day and how many cups of vegetables per week one
should eat.
To lose weight, try the Mayo Clinic Diet
pyramid:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/NU00595 Better
yet, just use this chart or buy the book:
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