By Carol A. Cates, MSN, MBA, RN
Chief Nursing Officer
Odessa Regional Medical Center
I don’t know about you, but one of the things I really struggle with every day is getting in the recommended number of fruits and vegetable servings. Not because I don’t like them, but for me, it’s a quantity thing.
The American Heart Association recommends the average adult eat 5 servings of veggies and 4 of fruit each day. One serving of fruit is a fresh fruit about the size of a fist, 1/2 cup of frozen or canned fruit (no sugar added), 1/4 cup of dried fruit or 1/4 cup of fruit juice. A serving of veggies is 1 cup of raw leafy veggies, or 1/2 cup of cooked fresh, frozen, or canned veggies, or 1/2 cup of vegetable juice. That, if you think about it, is 4 apples and 5 cups of lettuce, or 2 cups of berries and 2 1/2 cups of green beans every day.
That is a lot to eat! Other people I know just don’t like veggies. My sister, for instance, hates pretty much anything green, so getting her to eat 5 servings of veggies a day is just not going to happen.
When you are trying to be more health conscious, that struggle with quantity and/or taste makes it really tempting to look at other methods of getting the nutrition of fruits and veggies.
Two ways that seem to be promoted a great deal lately are fruit and veggie supplements (powders, pills, or gummies) and smoothies/juicing.
According to the National Institutes of Health, there is very little in terms of blinded, unbiased research to say if fruit and vegetable supplements are beneficial. What we do know is they do increase the blood serum concentrations of antioxidants found in plant foods, like beta carotene, vitamins C and E, and folate.
They also saw reductions in markers of protein, lipid, and DNA oxidation. Markers for inflammation, immunity and endothelial (the cells that line our blood vessels and many other tissues) function. Have promising improvements as well.
However, because these supplements are not regulated like medications, the concentrations of these vitamins and antioxidants can vary greatly, even within brands. That variation can cause interactions with medications or other health issues.
There have also been studies that have found high levels of heavy metals in many fruit and vegetable supplements. These supplements also eliminate some of the most beneficial parts of the fruits and vegetables, the water and fiber they contain.
Basically, according to the experts, there is some benefit, but there is also risk. Only you, and your primary care provider or a nutritionist can really decide if the benefit outweighs the risk. Even if you do supplement, you still need the fiber and water, which means you cannot eliminate whole fruits and veggies.
If you do decide to take a fruit and veggie supplement, make sure you are reading labels carefully. Look at the ingredients list, if there are things you cannot pronounce or “proprietary blends,” its probably not a good choice, because you don’t know what you are putting into your body. Be careful of dyes, colorings, sugars, and preservatives as well. Also look at the nutrition levels. Many of the fruit and veggie supplements don’t really give you that much of a boost beyond a multivitamin.
Juicing is also a way to get the nutrition of whole fruits and veggies, but like with fruit and veggie supplements, it takes away the fiber.
Unlike juicing, smoothies keep the fiber but beware of commercially produced smoothies as they often add sugar in huge quantities. Many commercially prepared smoothies have as much or more sugar per serving than a soda. Commercially produced smoothies can also have unhealthy fats added as well.
If you do choose to go the smoothie route, make it yourself, and along with whole fruit, add dark leafy greens, and use unsweetened milk, nut milk, or water as the liquid. With any smoothie, because they are concentrated and consumed quickly, they can cause blood sugar levels to rise quickly then drop, which can make people hungry again in a short period of time.
Basically, the best way to get all benefits from fruits and veggies is to eat the recommended number of servings in whole form. That way, you get all the nutrition, all the fiber, and the time it takes to eat all that quantity keeps you full and your blood sugar levels stable, all without putting yourself at risk of additives and contaminants. Like with so very many things when it comes to diet and nutrition, there just isn’t a good short cut.
