A healthy diet should be full of color

Features

November 24, 2009

By LaDell Emmons The McAlester News-Capital Tue Nov 24, 2009, 10:24 AM CST

While some things are black and white, your dinner plate is one place that should be full of color.

Eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables on a daily basis provides the body with numerous vitamins, minerals, ﬁber and other compounds needed for a healthy lifestyle.

Fruits and vegetables in the diet are extremely important because they provide needed nutrients to help ensure good health. The USDA MyPyramid contains recommendations regarding how to get enough fruits and vegetables into your diet. Not only do these foods taste great, they also contain nutrients that may lower your risk of certain types of cancer and heart disease.

Fruits are shown by the red band and vegetables are indicated by the green band in the USDA MyPyramid. Just a few years ago, research indicated that 84 percent of Oklahomans did not eat enough fruits and vegetables.

The amount a person needs each day from the USDA MyPyramid fruit and vegetable group will depend on age, gender and level of physical activity. For a reference 2,000 calorie diet, the USDA MyPyramid recommends two cups of fruit and two and one-half cups of vegetables each day. The MyPyramid’s Web site is www.mypyramid.gov.

Getting children to eat the recommended number of servings per day can be difﬁcult. You might try letting your child pick a fruit or vegetable at the grocery store. Also, playing “Name that Fruit” with the produce you have in the kitchen might encourage consumption. Let your child keep track of the different colors of fruits and vegetables they eat. See what different colors of fruits and vegetables they have during the week. Help your child make a poster of fruits and vegetables. Hang it up in the kitchen to remind them to eat fruits and vegetables each day.

It’s important to include a rainbow of colors in your fruit and vegetable selections, including purple, green, white, yellow, orange and red. Adding a variety of color to your plate will provide important nutrients for good health.

For more information in Pittsburg County, call 918-423-4120 or log onto www.oces.okstate.edu/pittsburg.

LaDell Emmons is the Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Educator for the Pittsburg County Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service. Reach her via email at ladell.emmons@okstate.edu. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability or status as a veteran and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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