Eat Lots of Fruits and Vegetables

I’ve gotten to a point in life where I don’t like to share my age, which of course makes people want to guess how old I am. My students in particular love trying to guess and they almost always guess much younger than I really am, usually by 10-15 years.

In fact, I still feel like I did 15 years ago. I’m sure my genes play a role in this and I’m also sure keeping myself in top physical condition plays a large role too. Getting enough sleep and effectively managing my stress also helps. I think my diet though plays the biggest role in keeping me feeling young and healthy.

My diet has changed a lot over time. In high school I ate pretty much whatever was put in front of me. In university I became a vegetarian and stayed that way for 5 years. Now I tend to eat lots of fish, free range meats and nuts.

However, a couple of things have stayed consistent in my diet. One of these is I’ve never had much of a sweet tooth so I don’t eat a lot of processed sugars. The other is that I’ve always eaten a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables. In fact, fruits and vegetables have always made up most of my snacks. I would estimate that I probably average about 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. I am certain my good health is at least in part due to all these fruits and vegetables.

Fruits and vegetables are packed with vitamins and minerals which are essential for both health and survival. They also contain sugars and starches which provide energy for our bodies. In addition they hydrate us, by providing water. Finally, they contain lots of both soluble and insoluble fiber.

Fiber is a big part of what makes fruits and vegetables so amazing.  Insoluble fiber essentially keeps our digestive system clean, by moving waste from other foods through. Soluble fiber dissolves in our blood and helps to remove cholesterol from our vascular system. Soluble fiber also slows the rate that glucose (blood sugar) gets into our blood. This means fruit is generally a low glycemic index food.

When you eat an apple, most of the parts of it that aren’t sweet are water and fiber. When the apple gets into your digestive system, your body has to break through the fiber to get at the sugar. So if an apple has 95 calories, it will take quite a while for your body to break up the fiber to get at those calories. Thus a 95 calorie apple will give you energy for much longer than something that is easy for your body to break down like 95 calories of white bread.

If you don’t believe me, try an experiment on yourself. Eat a nice juicy piece of fresh fruit for a snack. Then, on a separate occasion, eat a piece of white bread for a snack. Be sure you are hungry both times. At 15 minute intervals after you eat, make a mental note about how you feel.  Although the white bread might make you feel fuller sooner, I think you will find the fruit with it’s slow energy release and nutrient dense goodness will make you feel energized for much longer. But don’t take my word for it, try it and see for yourself:)