A message from the CDC - eat your fruits and veggies

You know your mom was right. Now the Center for Disease Control (CDC) is weighing in as well.

The CDC is behind a national health promotion and disease prevention program called Healthy People 2010. The primary goal of Healthy People 2010 is to help individuals of all ages increase life expectancy and improve their health and the quality of their lives.

A report in spring 2007 from the CDC on Americans not eating enough fruits and veggies concludes that there is a "need for continued interventions that encourage greater fruit and vegetable consumption among U.S. adults."

The report states: "A diet high in fruits and vegetables is associated with decreased risk for chronic diseases." It continues about weight management. "In addition, because fruits and vegetables have low energy density (i.e., few calories relative to volume), eating them as part of a reduced-calorie diet can be beneficial for weight management."

Dr. David Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine comments on the CDC report. He said, "The new CDC report indicates something we've long known, that fruits and vegetable intake is well below recommended levels," This is regrettable, Katz said. "These two food categories have the greatest potential of all for promoting health and fighting disease."

We think fresh, raw, organic fruits and vegetables should be the foundation for everyone's diet. These are truly enhancing foods, and they also are the best foods for breaking the appetite trap. You spring the appetite trap by eating foods that fill you but are low in good nutrients causing your appetite to continue because your body is still looking for nutrition. The appetite trap leads to over eating and being overweight.
Now it appears the CDC is going to make our healthier lifestyles a bit easier as well. It was also interesting to note that about the same time Federal Reserve Chairman Bernacke mentioned in a speech that if we don't make major changes in the way we manage preventable diseases, we will overwhelm the healthcare care system. It really doesn't matter why we are promoting diet change for more fresh fruits and vegetables; it is a good thing for the CDC and for us.

The article states that to meet the 2010 national objectives, a more sustained and effective public health response is needed, including continued surveillance, identification of barriers to eating more fruits and vegetables, and environmental changes (e.g., increasing the proportion of fruits and vegetables in vending machines and promoting healthful food advertising and the availability of healthful foods).

Fruit filled vending machines here we come....