Mom Was Right – Eat Your Fruits and Veggies
Saturday, November 01, 2014
Various fruits and vegetables for sale at Pike Place Market, Seattle (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
American Heart Association serves up fruits and veggies on National Eating Healthy Day
Robbinsville, NJ, October 30, 2014 – National Eating Healthy Day is Wednesday, November 5, and the American Heart Association wants people to listen to the advice of generations of mothers (and fathers): eat your fruits and vegetables.
Americans typically only consume about half their recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. The American Heart Association recommends eating eight or more fruit and vegetable servings every day. For an average adult consuming 2,000 calories daily, that means about 4 ½ cups of fruits and vegetables a day.
“Fruits and vegetables are high in vitamins, minerals and fiber, and low in saturated fat and calories,” said Howard A. Levite, MD, president of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association Southern New Jersey Board of Directors and medical director of the Heart Institute and Cardiac Catheterization Labs at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center. “Most fruits and vegetables also have no or little sodium, and eating a variety of fruits and vegetables may help you control your weight and your blood pressure.”
While heart disease and stroke are leading causes of death and disability for all Americans, more than 80 percent of risk factors for heart disease and stroke are preventable through behaviors like making better food choices, getting regular exercise, keeping a healthy weight and not smoking.
Request a free resource kit to celebrate National Eating Healthy Day with your company, school, organization or family by calling the American Heart Association state office at 609.208.0020. For more information on National Eating Healthy Day and to find recipes and other nutrition information, visit heart.org/NationalEatingHealthyDay.