1. Focus on Colors Instead.
Written By Gloria Tsang, RD and Christina Newberry on Mar 01, 2011
(HealthCastle.com) You've probably had the 5-a-day slogan for fruits and vegetables drilled into
your brain since you were a little kid. Most people don't want to spend time measuring their fruits
and vegetables, so we'll let you in on a secret. While you should definitely try to incorporate more
fruits and veggies into your diet, it's actually more important to get a good variety of different
colors of produce. Each color group has different phytochemicals, so mixing and matching gets you
the most bang for your produce buck. That's why we say 5-a-day is out, and 3-a-day is in: 3
different color groups of fruit and veggies, that is!
Fruit and Vegetable Color Groups
 Red: Provides lycopene, which may help prevent lung and prostate cancers, and
antioxidants that may help prevent heart disease.Top picks: red grapes and apples, cherries,
rhubarb, red bell peppers, tomatoes, beets.
 Purple: Provides anthocyanins, which may help prevent heart disease and lower the risk of
cancer.Top picks: concord grapes, blueberries, blackberries, plums, figs, eggplant.
 Green: Provides lutein, which may reduce the risk of stroke and protect eyes against
macular degeneration.Top picks: green grapes and apples, honeydew melon, kiwi, spinach,
avocado, green beans.
 Orange: Provides beta carotene, which may help prevent some cancers, reduce the risk of
heart disease, and improve immune function.Top picks: mango, oranges, peaches,
pumpkin, carrots, corn.
 White: Provides anthoxanthins and allicin, which can help lower blood pressure and
protect against stomach cancers.Top picks: bananas, cauliflower, mushrooms, onions,
potatoes, turnips.
The Bottom Line
Choose at least one item from three different produce color groups daily to maximize the benefits
of the fruit and veggies you eat. Stop counting 5-a-day and focus on 3-a-day instead!
So how much fruit and veggies should you be eating? An adult female should eat 2.5-3 servings of
veggies and 1.5-2 servings of fruits, while an adult male should eat 3-4 servings of veggies and 2-2.5
servings of fruit. A serving amounts to one cup of raw fruit, one cup of cooked veggies, or two cups
of raw veggies - so it's not as simple as it may seem.