Celebrate National Nutrition Month – Eat More Produce!

March is National Nutrition Month!  And, what is the only food group health experts everywhere agree we should eat more of?  Fruits and vegetables of course. While there are decades of peer reviewed studies that show the benefits of a diet rich in these healthy foods, here are just a few examples as we head into March.

• A study published in PLOS Medicinedetermined that “prescriptions” for healthy foods could save more than $100 billion in healthcare costs.  The healthy foods include fruits and veggies plus seafood, whole grains and plant oils.
• A study published in Science Dailyfound that one in seven cardiovascular deaths could be attributed to not eating enough fruit while one in 12 of these deaths could be attributed to not eating enough vegetables. Put another way, low fruit and veggie consumption resulted in an estimated three million deaths from heart disease or stroke.
• A University College of London studyshowed that people who ate seven or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day reduced their risk of premature death by 42%. Consuming that many servings of produce each day reduced the risk of death from cancer by 25% and heart disease by 31%.

A plant rich diet may also positively influence fertility.  A 2018 study in human reproduction found females under 35 undergoing in vitro fertilization had a 65% to 68% increased chance of success with a stronger adherence to the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes eating lots of fruits and veggies each day.
Studies have shown that eating enough fruits and veggies has other positive benefits too like improving your mood, better sleep, shinier hair and whiter teeth.  It’s true!  Visit the Alliance for Food and Farming’s “A Dozen Reasons” section to learn more.