By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

June 4, 2018

• A third of deaths could be prevented by eating these foods
• What are you eating?
• Easy ways to slip more fruits and veggies into your diet

Here’s a statistic that absolutely floors me…

Only one out of every 10 adults eats the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. This means 90% of Americans are eating less than the current guidelines of 1½ to 2 cups of fruit per day and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables.

This is tragic!

Eating fresh, plant-based foods is one of the easiest ways to prevent cancer. These foods protect against high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and mental decline. They preserve your vision, prevent diabetes, keep you thin and support a healthy gut microbiota.

To top it off, it’s estimated that about a third of early deaths could be prevented… just by eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables.

What are you eating?

Here’s a question that begs to be asked…

If most folks are getting hardly and fruits and veggies in their diets, what are they eating?

Well, that’s where the real tragedy comes in. Instead of eating nutrient-dense plant-based foods, a lot of people are loading up on unhealthy foods that have little or no nutritional value.

The truth is, many of the foods that are a regular part of the American diet may actually contribute to the development of disease and early death.

Processed meats like bacon, sausage, hot dogs, ham and deli meats are all carcinogens. That’s right. They rank right up there with cigarette smoking and asbestos when it comes to increasing your cancer risk. Yet, these foods grace tables across the U.S. every day.

Refined carbs and sugars that are found in so many of today’s breads, cereals and other packaged foods also fuel the growth of cancer cells. Additionally, they are linked to metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, obesity and the development of fatty liver.

Omega 6 fatty acids are also prevalent in foods that come in boxes, bags and bottles. When we eat too many of these fatty acids it promotes inflammation, which is linked to most chronic health problems associated with aging.

Plus, omega-6 fatty acids create a pro-inflammatory state that promotes LDL oxidation, arterial plaque, blood clots and narrowing of arteries. They’re bad news all the way around.

Healthy sounding nutrition bars are usually loaded with salt, sugar and fat… Foods that claim they contain no sugar often contain artificial sweeteners that disrupt your hunger hormones and act as excitotoxins in your brain… Rice, often thought of as a “health food”, (depending on the ground water the rice is grown) frequently contains high levels of inorganic arsenic, which is a deadly poison.

I could go on and on, but I think you’ve got the picture now. We’re literally killing ourselves with food!

Yet, just replacing these killer foods with fruits and vegetables not only wards off disease, it also extends life.

Easy Ways to Slip more Fruits and Veggies into Your Diet

As far as I’m concerned, plant-based foods should be the foundation of your diet. And it’s not nearly as hard to start eating more fruits and veggies as you might think.

You can easily…

• Slip some berries or a banana in with your breakfast.
• Enjoy an apple, orange, pear or mixed fruit cup as a snack.
• Eat a salad, veggie wrap or bowl of vegetable soup at lunch.
• Munch on celery or carrot sticks when you need a quick bite to eat.
• Fill your dinner plate with fresh veggies and a small portion of lean protein.
• Make veggie filled stews, stir fries and casseroles for hearty meals. (As a bonus, you can have the leftovers at lunch the next day.)

It’s also fun to experiment with ways to cook your veggies so that you can use them as a replacement for meat.

For example, one of my favorite dishes is a Portobello mushroom steak. It’s basically a giant grilled or broiled Portobello mushroom cap. You can top it with anything you want. I like mine with tomatoes, onions, olive oil, spinach and garlic. I also do a quick sautee of favorite veggies and put them in the scooped out mushroom cap with grated organic parmesano reggiano and bake with olive oil on top.

Another dish I find tasty and satisfying is “cauliflower steak”. Just slice a head of cauliflower from top to bottom in two inch “steaks”. Lay the pieces flat in a baking pan and drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over them. Toss in some pine nuts – and whatever else sounds good – and roast them in the oven until they’re tender.

You have all sorts of fruits and veggies to choose from. Try them all! Just remember to buy organic whenever possible.

SOURCES:

Only 1 in 10 Adults Get Enough Fruits or Vegetables. Press Release. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nov 2017.

Aune D, et al. Fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer and all-cause mortality-a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. Int J Epidemiol. 2017 Jun 1;46(3):1029-1056.