Why Reach for 5?

By now, many of us know that little maxim about eating at least five servings of vegetables and fruits a day.   But why are all those servings of apples, bananas, celery, carrots, spinach, peas, and squash so important to your health?

Well, for starters how about because they contain a variety of vitamins and minerals that our body needs to function; because they’re naturally low in calories and high in fiber, a combination that will help you feel full while keeping your caloric intake down; and because they’re low in sodium and cholesterol free!

Also, daily consumption of a variety of fruits and vegetables helps prevent many of those health issues that come with increasing age.  But the key is variety.  Eat an assortment of many different colors.  Each color represents a different phytochemical, a vital ingredient that gives the fruit or vegetable its unique color.  And phytochemicals may be responsible for providing one or more of the following benefits:

• Heart health
• Healthy aging
• Healthy cholesterol levels
• Healthy immune system
• Lower risk of cancer   
• Preservation of memory
• Reduced risk of stroke
• Reduced risk for Type II diabetes
• Strong bones and teeth
• Urinary tract health 
• Vision health

Fruits and vegetables are also important sources of potassium, dietary fiber, vitamins A, C, and E, and folate.  Potassium is a mineral that helps regulate your blood pressure, and fiber helps regulate your gastrointestinal system and prevent constipation.  Vitamin A aids in keeping our eyes and skin healthy by protecting against infection.  Vitamin E is responsible for protecting essential fatty acids and vitamin A from oxidation.  Vitamin C keeps us healthy by boosting our immune system as well as assists with body tissue repair and growth.  Folate, also referred to as folic acid, aids in forming our red blood cells.  Folic acid is also very important during pregnancy to ensure a healthy newborn and spinal cord.

Such a long list of health benefits gives you many reasons to reach for 5.  So enjoy your fruits and vegetables and their many wonderful benefits!

This “grain,” virtually unheard of in the United States, has been a long-time staple food in its native Central America.  Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) was once called "the gold of the Incas” because Incan warriors believed it increased their stamina.  Although considered a grain, it’s actually related to spinach and Swiss chard.

Quinoa, the miracle food, is high in a complete protein that contains a good balance of nine essential amino acids.  That fact alone makes it a GREAT food source for vegans or others not getting enough protein in their diet.  Also, it is LOADED with the amino acid, lysine, which is necessary for tissue repair and growth!  In addition to protein, quinoa offers a myriad of other health-building nutrients such as manganese, magnesium, riboflavin, iron, copper, and phosphorous that have been shown to help people suffering from migraine headaches, diabetes, and atherosclerosis.  Because of the many benefits quinoa has to offer, it’s being considered as a possible crop in NASA’s Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long duration manned spaceflights!

Let’s take a closer look at two of the health-building nutrients in quinoa.  Magnesium helps relax constricted blood vessels, which in turn reduces hypertension, migraine headaches, ischemic heart disease, and atherosclerosis.  Riboflavin (also called B2) is necessary for proper energy production within cells and improves the metabolism within the brain and muscle cells. 

Quinoa is easy to prepare.  A small, round, yellow grain with a crunchy texture, it cooks in just 12 minutes, is gluten free, and provides 45% of our daily value (DV) of the dietary fiber.  Simply cook it as you would rice by bringing two cups of water to a boil with one cup of grain, covering at a low simmer and cooking for 14-18 minutes or until the germ separates from the seed.  The cooked germ looks like a tiny curl.  There are 127 calories in ½ cup of cooked quinoa, 2 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of protein, 23.5 grams of carbohydrates, and 2 grams of fiber.

One little-known fact about quinoa is that it is naturally coated in saponins, which cause a bitter taste.  Most quinoa sold in the U.S. has been rinsed before packaging, but when bought in bulk it may need to be soaked beforehand to remove the bitter saponins.  The quinoa should be soaked for a few hours, then rinsed well under running water.

Quinoa certainly is proof that tiny packages can be chock-full of nearly miraculous amounts of health-giving benefits.

Eating healthy while losing weight is important because the right foods will keep hunger at bay while providing the important nutrients your body needs. In order to lose weight you need to take in fewer calories than you burn each day. A good way to do this is to increase your exercise by about 30 minutes a day and decrease your calories by about 300-500 each day.

• Include a minimum of 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit per day. A serving size is 1 cup fresh or ½ cup cooked vegetables or 1 medium-sized piece of fruit.
• Choose whole grain foods over processed grains and choose brown rice over white rice. Whole grains have more fiber and nutrients and are digested slowly. Look for labels that say 100% whole grain.

• Adding ½ cup per day of legumes like beans, split peas or lentils is a healthy way to get protein, fiber and lots of vitamins and minerals into your diet.  Legumes are the perfect combination of protein and complex carbohydrates with almost no fat!
• When choosing meats, look for very lean cuts with no visible fat. Locally caught fish like trout is a great source of protein and omega 3 fatty acids. A portion of meat is about the size of a deck of cards.
• Choose low-fat or non-fat dairy products. The calories in full-fat dairy products add up fast!
• Be careful to choose healthy fats in your diet. Avoid saturated and hydrogenated fats and go for olive and canola oil instead. Even better, eat your fat calories in their whole form like nuts, seeds, avocados and olives. Be careful here! Fat is high in calories and it doesn’t take much to add up quickly.
• Keep in mind that small, frequent meals help keep your metabolism going and keep you from getting too hungry.
• Having a combination of protein like legumes, meat or dairy, complex carbohydrates like whole grains, potatoes, fruits, vegetables, and legumes and moderate amounts of healthy fat at each meal will keep you energized and going strong.

Check with your health care provider before starting any exercise or weight loss program. This is especially important if you have diabetes, heart disease, or other chronic medical conditions.

For more information about healthy eating and weight loss please visit www.mypyramid.gov.