Fruits and Vegetables

Eat five fruits and vegetables a day. Increasing fruits and vegetables in your diet gives you better health and helps prevent cancer and heart disease.

Fruits and vegetables are low in fat and are rich sources of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and fiber. The average American eats only one serving of fruit and two servings of vegetables a day.

You can find ways to put five or more servings in your salads, soups, sandwiches, main dishes, and snacks.

Fruits and vegetables affect diabetes in different ways. Fruit has 15 grams of carbohydrates per serving and affects your blood sugar within two hours.

The amount that blood sugar rises depends on whether you eat the fruit on an empty stomach, the form of the fruit (cooked or raw, whole or juice), and your blood-sugar level when you eat.

Check your blood-sugar level after eating fruit to see what it does to you. Nonstarchy vegetables contain only 5 grams of carbohydrates per serving, few calories, and lots of vitamins and minerals.

Moderate portions of vegetables have little effect on blood sugar but major effects on your health.