Many of us worry about whether we’re eating enough fruits and vegetables. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. We have written a lot of blogs about how to trick yourself into eating more vegetables and the reasons why getting your daily plants is so essential. But a new study has found that people can eat enough veggies while not getting all the right nutrients.
Fewer than 25 percent of people who ate the recommended amount of daily fruits and veggies got 500 milligrams of flavanols, which is the amount needed to aid heart health. Only some plants contain flavanols.
“This is a useful reminder that eating enough fruits and vegetables does not automatically mean you are getting high amounts of every helpful plant compound,” said registered dietitian Scott Keatley.
“For bioactive compounds that are believed to be beneficial for health, such as flavanols, there are no set dietary requirements,” said study co-author Dr. Gunter Kuhnle of the Univ. of Reading. “It is not known whether following dietary recommendations will result in a sufficient intake.”
Mr. Keatley said, “Not all fruits and vegetables contain the same amount of flavanols, so five servings [of fruits and vegetables] can look very different from one person to another.”
Plums, cranberries, blackberries, green tea, fava beans, cherries and apples are all excellent sources of flavanols. Fruits and vegetables also contain fiber, vitamins, minerals and other plant compounds that aid health. This study underscores how essential variety is. A mix of foods helps you get all of your needs met.
We like to go back to the old wisdom of eating the rainbow — and we aren’t talking about candy. When you eat a wide variety of whole foods, you reap the nutritional benefits of all of them. Flavanols give plants their bright colors, so if a vegetable has a brighter hue, it’s more likely to be higher in flavanols.
You don’t have to over-commit to a goal to get enough flavanols. The study’s lead author, Javier Ottaviani, said, “A handful of blackberries, a whole apple or having a cup of green tea alongside your meal makes a real difference.”
Adding “a bit of this and a bit of that” to your diet can make a large difference. People often try to make seismic shifts in their health routines, and that can backfire. No one can commit to a whole new eating style overnight. But adding a cup of tea or some berries to your day could be easier. Swapping cauliflower for broccoli is another option. Small changes add up and help you reach your goals.
