Are You Eating Enough Fruits and Veggies?
It doesn’t really matter what your current health goals are, from losing weight, building muscle, increasing endurance, or just generally feeling physically better. If you aren’t getting 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables in a day, it will be really hard to accomplish any of these goals.
Eating enough fruits and veggies complements everything else you are doing with your nutrition. It isn’t just about checking a box so that you seem healthy. There is a purpose that these foods serve. They deliver the essential vitamins and minerals that are needed for all the cellular functions in your body.
Do you want to lose weight? This means boosting your metabolism, controlling your blood sugar, and increasing your energy levels. Without important B vitamins found in foods like leafy greens and citrus fruits your body won’t generate those energy levels. The same goes for magnesium, which is essential for ATP and energy production, and is found in fruits and veggies like bananas and spinach.
Want to improve your blood sugars? Then you should make sure to include foods rich in chromium, a vital mineral involved in regulating glucose metabolism. Apples, bananas, grapes, and green beans are excellent sources of this nutrient.
What about if you want to improve your endurance or build muscle? Again, you need high energy levels and fast turnover of ATP. B vitamins, magnesium, and iron are just a few of the vitamins and minerals your body needs.
Need to enhance your immune system? It should come as no surprise that fruits and vegetables are packed with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Zinc, copper, selenium, vitamins A, C, D, and the B vitamins play pivotal roles in immune function. Not to mention the phytochemicals found in fruits and veggies that also enhance immunity.
Want stronger bones? Sure, we all know milk makes your bones strong. But you can also find calcium (and vitamin K which is also essential for bone health) in dark leafy greens, broccoli, and Brussel sprouts.
Recovering from an injury? Then you need all the help you can get to help your muscles rebuild and your joints, tendons, and ligaments to regenerate. Vitamin C and copper are essential for collagen production, which can aid in recovery. And the anti-inflammatory properties of fruits and veggies will also help get you back to your top form.
These are just a few examples, but the list goes on and on. But to get all these benefits, you really need to be eating 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. But that doesn’t mean eating 5 apples or 7 bananas. There needs to be a variety of fruits and vegetables to meet your nutritional needs. You can hit all your protein and calorie goals, but if you neglect getting some colorful foods into your diet you will likely fall short of your fitness goals.
Filling in the Gaps
For some people, 5-7 servings of fruits and veggies may not be a big deal. A few servings each at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and some light snacks during the day can get you to these numbers easily.
But I’ll admit, I definitely don’t meet these numbers every day. As much as I try to plan out my meals, it doesn’t always work out. That’s why I’ve made it a habit to include some greens that I mix in with my morning shake, along with my Micro-Factor vitamins that contain a fruits and veggies capsule that contains many of the essential nutrients to power me through the day and my workouts.
I know that I need all the help I can get from my nutrition. And it isn’t just about competing in Ironmans or running a marathon. It’s about keeping my body healthy and injury free, avoiding illness, maintaining a healthy weight, keeping my sugar and cholesterol in check, and recovering from tough workouts so that I can get back to it the next day.
If you are looking to make positive changes in your diet and overall fitness, today is the best day to start. And just a few small changes, like increasing how many fruits and vegetables you eat in a day, is a great first step.