How Many Portions Of Fruits And Vegetables Should I Eat A Day?

Dr. Lichtenstein answers the question: 'How Many Fruits And Vegetables A Day?'

By
Alice H. Lichtenstein, D.Sc., Director, Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory, JM USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University
December 24, 2008, 1:52 PM ET
1 min read

— -- Question: How many portions of fruits and vegetables should I eat a day?

Answer: Well, the general recommendation is that you should consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. I think, in general, though the serving size is relatively modest; a cup of leafy greens, a half cup of other types of fruit.

So I would shoot for at least five servings of fruits and vegetables. If you go up closer to ten, you'll probably be better off; in addition to which, if you're eating more fruits and vegetables, then you're eating less of things that probably you should not be eating a lot of. Things like certain snack food that might be high in calories, salt, saturated fat.

So I would say minimum of five, as many as you can eat, and always pick the ones you enjoy. Don't worry about the specific types at this point.

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