Our bodies need fruits and vegetables to thrive. Luckily, you can meet the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables without trying very hard. All you need to do is plan a little and make some changes in your diet. A clever way to start is to celebrate Eat More Fruits and Vegetables Day.
A Healthy Diet Heals
A diet that includes a variety of fruits and vegetables contains the power to help prevent or heal health issues. Because fruits and vegetables contain vitamins, minerals, and fiber, your body will receive the nutrients needed to help you exercise, be creative, or solve problems. Your body can also build up a defense system against illnesses like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, in addition to achieving a healthy weight. A nutritious diet can also repair the damage alcohol or drugs cause to your body.
Eat More Fruits and Veggies
The recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables is five servings per day. You can do this by eating two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables throughout the day. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done.
What Do Servings Look Like?
What constitutes a serving of a fruit or vegetable? Should you eat six salads a day? Or a bowl of fruit? If you’re a man, try to eat at least two cups of fruit and three cups of vegetables every day. Women should have two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables each day.
Knowing what a serving size looks like or what counts as a serving is challenging. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPlate recommend filling half of your plate with fruits and vegetables. Have fun with it. Make a colorful array of fruits and vegetables, highlighting how the colors can contrast and complement each other. Find a creative way to make preparing, serving, and eating the recommended amount enjoyable.
Making Healthy Eating a Routine
You may wonder how to get the number of fruits and vegetables you need into your daily routine. Don’t worry. Swapping out a few foods and implementing a new way of looking at meals can make it easy to meet the recommended servings.
For example, a breakfast smoothie made with fruits and perhaps a vegetable or two is an effortless way to start your day. There are several smoothie ideas available on the internet. Another example is switching your mid-morning, afternoon, or evening snack with a piece of fruit or a vegetable.
Drinking fruit, vegetable, or mixed juices can be another option for meeting your daily goal. However, you shouldn’t rely on vegetable or fruit juice to help you meet the approved servings. Vegetable and fruit juices do contain nutrients, but they are low on fiber and can be high in sugar or sodium.
Healthy Eating Is Self-Care
Grocery shopping is the first step in a healthy diet. While stopping by the grocery store after work or during the weekend doesn’t sound like fun, you can use the time you’re shopping to explore your mind and soul connection. As you walk through the fruit and vegetable section, look at the variety and options available. Consider how you can combine fruits and vegetables into one dish, like adding strawberries into a salad.
Alternatively, you can pick out a fruit or vegetable you’ve never tried. Maybe shopping is a challenge, and you’re not one to think of ways to cook or use fruits or vegetables. Luckily, you can look at recipes online and make a shopping list. A list is a helpful way to plan and eat healthily.
Maybe you didn’t think of grocery shopping as self-care before, but consider what you can do while you’re purposefully choosing food.
- You can actively meditate: Active meditation combines focusing on one issue or object while performing an activity. You still create a space for connecting your mind and body awareness while performing a necessary chore.
- Pray: Use the time to say a prayer or practice a mantra as you shop. Praying can decrease your stress, but it can also increase your inner peace.
Faith-Based Eating
Your faith feeds your soul. Why shouldn’t your diet feed your soul, mind, and body? A Bible-based diet is nutritionally sound. In Genesis 1:29, God told his people that he gave them everything they needed to eat well. The Original Bible Diet, or the Eden Diet, outlines the foods that can nourish and sustain a person. Genesis 1:30 and 3:17-18 also describe the food available to man (and woman) after Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden.
When you remove processed, sugary, or fat-laden food, you can begin to adhere to a faith-based diet. In the Bible, natural foods from the earth and sea are the sole source of nutrients. Loaves of bread, fruit, vegetables, legumes, and meats are sources of nutrition for the body, mind, and soul.
Diets packed with fruits and vegetables are proven to prevent illnesses like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or cancer. Additionally, eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day can aid your body and mind in repairing themselves from substance use disorder. Because substance use disorder affects your well-being, a diet filled with nutrient-dense foods is vital to help you focus on your recovery. A faith-based diet reflects your commitment to healing and soothing your substance abuse-induced injuries. At Renaissance Ranch Treatment Centers, we weave a faith-based approach with scientifically proven therapy to help you heal. We believe in a faith-based practice. Everyone can heal and re-connect with their spiritual, mental, and physical self. We encourage you to continue your path by joining the Band of Brothers Alumni group. Through faith and support, you can find recovery. For more information, call (801) 308-8898 today.