Fruits and vegetables: What's so good about them? Houmatoday.com

Fruits and vegetables: What's so good about them? Houmatoday.com

Evelyn L. Washington
Columnist

Published: Sunday, March 7, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, March 5, 2010 at 3:00 p.m.

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Eating fruits and vegetables provide health benefits.

Studies have shown that people that eat more fruits and vegetables are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Fruits and vegetables provide vital nutrients for health and maintenance of your body.

Research from the LSU AgCenter and USDA Center for Nutrition offers the following health benefits:

- Eating foods, such as vegetables, that are low in calories per cup instead of some other higher-caloric food may be useful in helping to lower calorie intake.

- Eating fruits and vegetables rich in potassium as part of an overall healthy diet may reduce the risk of developing kidney stones.

- Eating fruits and vegetables rich in potassium may help to decrease bone loss.

- Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetable as part of an overall healthy diet may protect against certain cancers, such as mouth, stomach and colon-rectum cancer.

- Diets rich in foods containing fiber, such as fruits and vegetables, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

- Vitamin A keeps eyes and skin healthy and helps to protect against infection.

- Vitamin E helps protect vitamin A and essential fatty acids from cell oxidation.

- Vitamin C helps heal cuts and wounds and keeps teeth and gums healthy.

You can receive a nutrition fact sheet, in addition to Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government commodities, at the following locations:

- 8-10 a.m. Tuesday at the Mechanicville Gym, 2814 Senator St., Houma.

- 1-3 p.m. Tuesday at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center, 346 Civic Center Blvd.

- 8-10 a.m. Wednesday at Bayou Towers, 7491 Park Ave., Houma.

- 1-3 p.m. Wednesday at the Ward 7 Citizen Club, 5006 La. 56, Chauvin.

- 8-10 a.m. Thursday at the Bayou Black Recreation Center, 3688 Southdown Mandalay Road.

- 1-3 p.m. Thursday at the Evergreen Cajun Center, 4694 W. Main St., Houma.

- 8-10 a.m. Friday at the VFW Post No. 4752, 7587 Grand Caillou Road, Dulac.

Commodities will be given on a first-come, first-serve basis to all registered applicants for a particular site.

Registration of new clients will begin once all food is distributed to the registered clients. Registration can also be done in the office by appointment only. For information, call 873-6817.

DID YOU KNOW

Did you know the food-stamp program name has been changed? SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is the new name for the Federal Food Stamp program.

The SNAP program helps families buy the food they need for good health.

Nutrition-education classes are scheduled from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at the Office of Family Support, 1012 W. Tunnel Blvd., Houma. The classes are free to SNAP applicants. For information, call 857-3620.

Q AND A

Question: What counts as 1 cup for fruits and vegetables?

Answer: A cup is equal to two medium-sized carrots, one large tomato, three broccoli spears, one large ear of corn, eight large strawberries, one small apple, one mango, 32 seedless grapes or one medium-sized pear.

To learn more about the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables to eat for the whole family, visit www.mypyramid.gov.

Evelyn L. Washington is a nutrition educator with the family-nutrition program at the Terrebonne Parish LSU AgCenter office, 511 Roussell St., Houma. She can be reached at 873-6495 or EWashington@agcenter.lsu.edu. For information, visit the state agency's Web site at www.lsuagcenter.com.