Current modern people intake inadequate fruits and vegetables due to stress, work environment, and other reasons. According to the World Health Organization, the daily intake of fruits and vegetables should be 5 to 9 servings. Based on current studies about 75% of the world population do not eat enough fruits and vegetables, over time it will bring harm to one’s health!

Readers can also answer the following questions to test their diet intake:
1. In one week, how many meals are eaten out often?
2. In the past week, how many bowls of vegetables do you eat every day? [A rice bowl is one serving]
3. Using a fist for the size of calculation, over the past week how many fruits do you eat a day?
4. Recall back to yesterday, what colors of fruits and vegetables did you eat?

Since 1991, the United States began to promote [5 A Day five-day fruits and vegetable campaign]. In 2000, The US Department of Agriculture states that the daily intake of five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables is no longer enough sufficient. In order to promote a healthy body, the daily intake should be 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables. Modern people’s nutritional needs should be based on age, gender, and total calories. The daily intake of children should have at least 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings fruit.

In addition to the amount of fruits and vegetables, one must also pay more attention to the variety of color intake, the so-called “Rainbow Diet”. The diet consists of eating at least five different colors  (blue, purple, red, orange, green, white) fruits and vegetables. In addition, it is recommended to take natural vitamins, minerals and other plant nutrients called “phytonutrients.” This nutrient can prevent the body from diseases and boost the immune system.

Phytochemicals are from plant nutrients. Scientists have found that there are more than 25,000 types of phytochemicals in vegetables and fruits. But only those that can be detected are carotenoids, lutein, grape polyphenols, soy isoflavones, and 200 other types. Thus showing that there are many nutritional values to be further developed. 

Many people eat only a single type of food or have preferences on colored fruits and vegetables. In the long-term, this will cause nutritional imbalance. For example, some prefer green color fruits and vegetables, but will not eat yellow colored fruits and vegetables. This will cause deficiency of carotene, lutein and other nutrients. If you do not eat red fruits and vegetables, lack of lycopene, capsaicin,  may increase the risk of stroke, cancer risk.

For the sake of being healthy, be sure to eat a variety of colored fruits and vegetables every day. Access to adequate and diverse plant nutrients may help to be healthier. Eating five fist sizes of colored fruits and vegetables is not easy, but taking supplements from phytonutrients can help make up the nutritional gap we need.