The National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, the Centers for Disease Control and the United States Department of Agriculture all agree: Eating five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day can improve your health and reduce the risk of cancer and other diseases including heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and mascular degeneration.

Thanks to numerous scientific studies, many years of research and broad endorsements by well-known medical professionals, more and more people are beginning to realize that whole foods are not a fad--they are, in fact, nature's preventive medicine.

Whole, natural, plant-based foods--fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds are nutrient-dense, which means that they are high in nutrients relative to their calorie content. Calories come only from carbohydrates, proteins or fats. The non-caloric part of food is where the vitamins, minerals, enzymes, phytonutrients, antioxidants and fiber are found. The antioxidant power of phytonutrients in whole foods is what keeps you healthy.

According to Phyllis Bowen, R.D., of the University of Illinois Functional Foods Program, one of the biggest breakthroughs of the past decade is the certainty that free radicals promote disease and the equally compelling evidence that substances in plant foods called antioxidants and phytonutrients help prevent them.

Here's how it works: Free radicals are unstable oxygen molecules that hurt healthy cells in a frantic attempt to stabilize themselves. The antioxidants found in whole foods protect you from disease by offering up their own electrons to stabilize free radicals before they can cause damage.

Health officials realize that eating five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day can seem like a daunting task to most Americans. For that reason, the National Cancer Institute and the Produce for Better Health Foundation, a nonprofit consumer education foundation representing the fruit and vegetable industry, have launched the "5 A Day for Better Health Program." The program is designed to increase public awareness of the importance of fruits and vegetables for better health and provide helpful information on how to incorporate produce into daily meals.

Surveys show that, since the program's inception over 10 years ago, adult fruit and vegetable intake has increased nearly one full serving per day, but the daily average is still below the recommended minimum of five. Why are we reluctant to eat fruits and vegetables when research proves the benefits of a whole foods diet?

You may think you don't have the time to eat healthy. You may think that whole food meals are as boring as a bag of salad. You may even think supplements in a pill or powder form can deliver the same benefits found in whole foods. You need to know that none of the above is true.

Healthy eating is not only nutritious, but it can also be incredibly delicious. Eating five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day will help you defy disease, lose weight, feel great and yes, live longer!

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