It's time to stop taking notes and start taking action. Being aware of a problem is one thing; doing nothing about it is worse. And that problem is not enough fruit and vegetable consumption. The CDC released a report which details the trends in fruit and vegetable consumption among adults. The numbers need major improvements. Personal responsibility is the only way to better health, more life in our years and years in our lives. A side effect will certainly be lower health care costs. Choosing to consume more ripe, raw fruits and vegetables is the best way to long-term health care. While we recommend Juice Plus+ as a way to get more nutrients from a variety of those foods, Juice Plus+ does not provide a total solution for good health. A well rounded diet, regular exercise, and avoiding the few unhealthy "killers" is what's needed. Here's more on the trend being seen --
A 10-year study released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows that we (American adults) are eating even less of the healthy stuff than we were 10 years ago! Not surprising, because the rates of obesity and diabetes have climbed in that period as well.
The CDC Healthy People 2010 objectives included targets of fruit and vegetable consumption. Their targets were high indeed, compared to the results.
The CDC 2010 target for adults (18 or over) was that 75% of the people responding to the 2009 survey would eat two or more fruits a day. But the actual responses showed that only 32.5%, nationwide, ate two or more fruits per day.
Disappointing too, were the results of vegetable consumption. The 2010 target for adults who eat three or more portions of vegetables a day (not including french fries) was 50% of the population; the actual respondents who ate that amount of vegetables was only 26.3% nationwide.
The CDC concludes that...
These findings underscore the need for interventions at national, state, and community levels, across multiple settings (e.g., worksites, community venues, and restaurants ) to improve fruit and vegetable access, availability, and affordability, as a means of increasing individual consumption.
In addition to the negative impact on our heath, interesting too, is the impact of less demand for fruit and veggies on the nation's farmers, as well as other economies in the chain of food gathering, transportation, sale and preparation that rely on that demand for survival. (source)
Comments: There are no capsules that can provide good health. The solution may be a simple one,
but it requires day-to-day consistent actions. Choosing fruits and vegetables over vending machine snacks that come in a bag or wrapper, or water over the soft drinks that too many people tend to gravitate toward when thirsty or feel tired. THe best way to feel great is by consuming plenty of the natural things: plant-based foods and water. And although we cannot use the Juice Plus+ fruit, vegetable, vineyard capsules as a crutch for our diets, thinking that we're getting what we need, we can at least give ourselves some of the nutrients that we fall short on...until we consistently eat the minimum recommended each day. The importance of fruits and vegetables - plant-based foods - to our good health, is a message that we all need to hear, and spread, until we have good health throughout our nation and world. Choose good health. Choose a healthy diet.
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