Do you know how to use the five a day rule for healthy eating?
Zaak OConan

The five a day rule is one of the most important rules to healthy eating. The five a day rule refers to the government’s recommendation that everyone eat at least five servings a day of fruits and vegetables. At first blush, five a day seems like a reasonable goal, but most people fail to eat sufficient amounts of these important foods.

It is important to remember the many advantages of fruits and vegetables when applying the five a day rule to your own diet. For one thing, fruits and vegetables taste great, contain fewer calories than many other foods and are full of many important vitamins and minerals. In addition, fruits and vegetables are colorful and beautiful, making them great garnishes and salad toppings.

In addition, fruits and vegetables are easy to prepare, even for the busiest individual. In most cases, fresh fruits require no preparation at all, other than a quick wash and perhaps peeling.

The five a day recommendation equates to roughly two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables every day, based on the average 2,000 calorie diet. This is not a difficult goal to reach, but it is important to keep the five a day goal in mind when grocery shopping, cooking and planning meals.

One great way to get started toward a five a day lifestyle is with a delicious serving of 100% fruit juice every morning. Apple juice, grapefruit juice and orange juice are all excellent choices for both taste and nutrition.

Fruits and vegetables can also be used as garnishes for other foods. Who doesn’t enjoy a sliced strawberry or banana with their morning cereal? And fruits and vegetables make great snacks as well. Whether you keep a couple of apples at your desk or a selection of carrot and celery sticks in the fridge, having fruits and vegetables readily at hand is a big part of the battle.

Of course variety is extremely important when making any change to your diet, and many dietary changes fail due to boredom. Constantly trying new varieties of fruits and vegetables is a great way to keep yourself interested in your new healthier way of eating. If you’ve never had kiwi fruit or asparagus, for instance, why not give it a try?

Combining attractive colors, shapes and sizes of fruits is another way to provide attractive and interesting meals for yourself and your family. Combining white grapes, red peppers and pineapple chunks can provide a delicious and attractive salad.

It is important to provide constant variety when implementing the five a day plan, particularly if you are cooking for a family. Try making some interesting new dishes, such as veggie pizza, made with fresh vegetables and whole wheat pizza crust, a fresh vegetable wrap, vegetable stir fry or pasta with fresh vegetables.

For those who think they are too busy to incorporate five servings of fruits and vegetables a day into their diet, there is help available. The many ready to eat, prepackaged salad kits on the market make it easier than ever to create a healthy salad on the go. Just keep a bottle of your favorite low fat or nonfat salad dressing on hand and you can enjoy a healthy salad anywhere and anytime.

Even fast food restaurants have made it easier than every to eat healthy, with every major chain now offering at least a few healthy menu items. In addition, most grocery chains offer fresh salad bars where you can create your own healthy lunch even if you’re pressed for time.

When creating your five a day healthy lifestyle, remember that fruits and vegetables make great snacks. An apple, orange or banana provides both great taste and excellent nutrition. In addition, the natural sugars contained in fruits do not provide the sugar high/sugar crash scenario all parents are familiar with.

Topping meals and salads with additional fruits and vegetables is a great way to enhance your new five a day lifestyle. Strips of green and red peppers, broccoli florets, sliced carrots and cucumbers are all great additions to pasta and potato salads. And of course carrots, spinach, apple slices, orange slices, nectarines, pineapples and raisins are all great additions to any salad.

In addition, adding fresh fruits to foods you already eat is a great way to make such foods part of your new lifestyle. Adding berries, bananas or oranges to cereal and yogurt is a great way to make sure you meet your five a day goal every day.
About the Author

Zaak O’Conan discovers and presents useful information on how to enhance and/or repair your life, body and relationships. You’ll find his other articles on eating better and other ways how to improve your life at http://your-health-center.com

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Studies have shown that the number of people who are obese or overweight has gone up through the years. This is attributed to the type of food being served in schools and fast food joints as well the lack of physical activity as the person grows older.

The problem goes farther because this means that many more Americans will suffer from high blood pressure, heart disease and strokes in the future. The good news is that this can be prevented before it is too late.

The natural way to lower the cholesterol will be by making some lifestyle changes and exercising regularly. This will help the individual lose weight, which is directly related to the cholesterol levels in the human body.

When people think of dieting, many think this means saying goodbye to some of lifes more juicer foods but it is not. The person will just have to limit the consumption and add new things that are healthier.

More often, this will require eating foods that are high in fiber and low in saturated fats. A few examples of these are artichokes, corn, fish, garlic, legumes, mushrooms, nut, olive oil, soy milk and whole grains.

The individual should not forget to have some fruits and vegetables as well since these are rich in sterols that are known to keep the cholesterol levels down. All of these products are affordable and can easily be purchased in the supermarket.

Aside from eating properly, the person must also take the necessary precautions when consuming liquids. This means drinking a glass of red wine moderately, reducing the consumption of beer, drinking fresh juices, non-fat milk and water.

Apple juice for example has been known to reduce cholesterol levels by up to 50% when taken regularly. Other fruits can also do the same so cutting this and putting it into a blender can do the trick or getting this in bottled form.

The next step to lowering the cholestesterol levels naturally is through exercise. This can be achieved in many ways such as brisk walking, jogging or running around the neighborhood. Learning a new sport and doing it regularly is another option.

Those who want to be looked after by a personal trainer can check out the gym since there are professionals that can create a program to achieve the persons desired results. This will be a combination of cardio-vascular exercises as well as weight lifting to burn the calories and lower the cholesterol levels.

There is another way to reduce the cholesterol levels but is only used as a last resort if these two do not work. The individual will be required to use medicine to make it happen. There are a lot of products out there and studies have shown this can drop the cholesterol levels by as much as 15% to 30%.

The person should be aware though that these drugs have certain side effects so it is best to consult a doctor first to make sure it is safe to use.

Cholesterol is something that is produced in the body and is also taken when food is eaten. The only way to make sure the levels in the blood doesnt exceed the limit is to have a checkup regularly and watch the food that is being cooked or served in the restaurant.

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