Five Servings of Fruits & Vegetables (two servings of fruits & three servings of vegetables) per day is Optimal for Long-term Health. Intakes higher than five servings a day didn’t show additional benefits.

(Wang et al., 2021)

We all know Fruits and Vegetables are good for us. Vegetables dominate all other food categories when it comes to nutrient density per Calorie.

Standard serving size for Fruits & Vegetables is about 75g. So 150g fruits & 225g of vegetables per day is the optimal intake. However, a 2017 meta-analysis (Aune et al., 2017) found a further reduction in cardiovascular risk and all-cause mortality risk up to 800g (10 servings) per day.

I usually aim for 400g-800g per day, depending on my Calorie intake and hunger level. If I’m dieting, I generally eat more vegetables, more food volume for fewer calories. Plus, you are more likely to miss optimal amounts of Fiber intake & Micronutrients when dieting. So increasing fruits & vegetables helps offset that.

Freshly picked fruits and vegetables from the farm or your garden are the most nutritious. In supermarkets, both fresh and frozen are equally nutritious, or frozen may even be more nutritious in some cases. Generally, freezing can preserve nutritional value. Plus, frozen produce is often cheaper and saves time.

Eat a variety of Vegetables & Fruits to ensure you get the best range of nutrients.

Reference:
Wang DD, Li Y, Bhupathiraju SN, Rosner BA, Sun Q, Giovannucci EL, Rimm EB, Manson JE, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB. Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Mortality: Results From 2 Prospective Cohort Studies of US Men and Women and a Meta-Analysis of 26 Cohort Studies. Circulation. 2021 Apr

Dagfinn Aune, Edward Giovannucci, Paolo Boffetta, Lars T Fadnes, NaNa Keum, Teresa Norat, Darren C Greenwood, Elio Riboli, Lars J Vatten, Serena Tonstad, Fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer and all-cause mortality—a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies, International Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 46, Issue 3, June 2017