FIT FOR DUTY. . .FIT FOR LIFE!

“Fitting 5 to 9 in Your 9 to 5: Answering the Five Ws”

Submitted by: CDR Jean Makie, Chair, USPHS Dietitian/Nutritionist PAC

5 to 9 a Day: What’s this all about?

The month of September is “5 to 9 A Day Month.” Maybe you’re asking yourself, “What is this? Did someone switch my work hours again?” Or, maybe you’re saying “5 to 9. . .I can’t fit one more thing into my day, never mind five or more!”

Continuing with our series “Fit For Duty. . .Fit for Life!”, a lifestyle-based column offered by the U.S. Public Health Service Dietitian/Nutritionist Professional Advisory Committee (D/N-PAC), this column provides an overview of the “5 A Day for Better Health Program” which is a national initiative to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables by all Americans to five to nine servings a day. The program also focuses on serving sizes to help individuals realize that achieving “5 to 9 a day” is not only possible, but easy, healthy, and delicious. And, it is a very simple, manageable way to continue with weight loss and maintenance goals.

The program’s goal is to encourage all Americans to eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Research indicates that such dietary changes can promote good health and reduce the risk of many cancers, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and other chronic diseases. The program was founded in 1991 as a partnership between the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Produce for Better Health Foundation, and today continues to include many Federal, State, and local government agencies, industry, and volunteer organizations.

More Fruits and Vegetables: Who Needs It?

Most likely, you do. In fact, everyone needs to eat more fruits and vegetables. Research proves that fruits and vegetables are critical to promoting good health and should be the foundation of a healthy diet. Many people need to double the amount of fruits and vegetables they eat every day. “Eat 5 to 9 A Day” promotes the eating of more fruits and vegetables through many promotional campaigns, including those tailored towards women: “Aim for 7” at http://5aday.gov/7aday/index.html; men: “Shoot for 9” at http://5aday.gov/9aday/index.html; children: "5 to 9 A Day" partners with schools at http://5aday.gov/tools/school/index.html; and different ethnicities such as African Americans at http://5aday.gov/aahealth/index.html.

OK, But Why Do We Need Them?

One reason is that fruits and vegetables help protect your health because they are packed with essential vitamins, minerals, fiber, and disease-fighting phytochemicals. Check out http://5aday.gov/why/phyto.html to learn more about phytochemicals and why they protect our health in different ways. Getting all of these different nutrients from a variety of fruits and vegetable everyday can help reduce your risk of:

Heart disease High blood pressure Type II diabetes Certain cancers

Another reason: they help keep us fit for life! Fruits and vegetables can help with weight loss and weight management. They are low in calories and high in fiber, which can help you manage your weight while eating great tasting foods. By replacing more fruits and vegetables for high-calorie foods, you can more readily lose weight, feel less hungry, and be more successful in keeping it off with continued healthy lifestyle choices.

5 to 9 a Day: Where Am I Going to Get Them All?

Getting five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables is not as difficult to do as it sounds! One serving of fruits and vegetables should fit within the palm of your hand. This is much, much smaller than most people think. A typical portion of fruits and vegetables, whether eaten as an individual piece (such as an apple or banana) or served beside a meal (like corn on the cob) or as a meal on its own (think “I’ll have a salad for lunch today”) is often more than one serving. A large salad can easily add up to 2 to 3 servings. Where do you find 5 to 9 servings? It’s all in your hands! Because one serving of fruits or vegetables is about the size of the palm of your hand, this is an easy way to think about serving sizes and to see where those 5 to 9 A Day can come from everyday. Below are just a few examples of single servings of fruits and vegetables:

A medium-sized piece of fruit such as an orange or apple (the size of a tennis ball) ¾ cup (6 ounces) of 100% fruit or vegetable juice One cup raw salad greens ½ cup raw or cut up fruit and vegetables ½ cup cooked vegetables ¼ cup dried fruit

5 to 9 a Day: When Can I Start?

Why the answer is TODAY! Fall is a great time of year to explore the fruits and vegetables that add spice and variety to our life. September may be “5 to 9 A Day Month”, but every day should be your “5 to 9 A Day”!

The following table is adapted from the extensive listing provided by NCI at . Fruit and vegetables come in a rainbow of colors -- green, yellow-orange, red, blue-purple, and white. Each color group offers something unique, like different vitamins, minerals, and disease-fighting phytochemicals, that work together to protect your health. So, eating a variety of fruits and vegetables every day is important to ensure that you obtain the variety of nutrients your body needs to be healthy!

Choose different fruits and vegetables, serve and prepare them in a variety of healthy ways, and make 5 to 9 a part of your fit for life, fit for duty, healthy lifestyle. For more information on the 5 to 9 Program, including suggestions for recipes and portion control, as well as the information summarized here, visit http://5aday.gov/.

Healthy lifestyle resources evaluated by the D/N-PAC and highlighted in this article are accessible from the USPHS Dietitian/Nutritionist category Web site at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~phsnutr/phsnutr.html.

 

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