Fruits and Veggies Five Ways

Laura Avery
Mirror contributing writer

   “Here comes the airplane…” “No dessert until you’ve eaten all your green beans…” “You need to have something besides watermelon for dinner…”
   How many ways can kids be cajoled, threatened or tricked into eating their recommended daily servings of fresh fruits and vegetables? And what is the recommended daily dose for kids these days, anyway? How about for active adults and inactive teens? Men and women?
   In order to better understand and address these important nutritionally based health issues, the California Department of Health Services has been actively involved in formulating and implementing statewide dietary recommendations for the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. Under colorful banners and posters, messages about eating “5 A Day for Better Health,” have become familiar to many consumers. Now, with trial data in hand, the DHS is able to show that there is a definite link between eating fresh fruits and vegetables and better health.
   Way back in 1988, the California Department of Health Services, along with a physician and a nutritionist, created a set of dietary guidelines they called “Californians Eat Healthy to Prevent Heart Disease.” The proposal, which was primarily funded with a grant from the National Cancer Institute called for a lean meat, low salt diet. California’s DHS Chief, Susan Foerster, wanted to focus on overall nutrition as well, especially in the category of fruits and vegetables, which were given short shrift as part of the “basic four” food pyramid that recommended just two daily servings each of fruit and vegetables. Foerster conducted surveys on dietary habits in three counties, and found that fruit and vegetable consumption was as low as three servings per day even in California’s agricultural heartland of Fresno County. She recruited California’s powerful, grower-funded fruit and vegetable commissions to became DHS’s ag partners. The commissions suggested a campaign approach to consumer education, and, together with the State, came up with a recommended number of five daily servings and the slogan “5 A Day For Better Health.”
   After the original National Cancer Institute grant ran out in 1991, ag groups organized an educational foundation so they could continue working on the 5-A-Day campaign along with DHS and National Institute of Health. Together they created a “Power Play” program that targeted school children with games and activities to teach about fruits and vegetables, and created programs that targeted Latino consumers. Their proposed “Dash Diet” to stop hypertension and reduce rates of heart attacks and strokes did indeed result in fewer heart attacks in field trials.
   Armed with positive data about the effects of eating 5 A Day for Better Health, the DHS and its ag partners have proceeded to form a wide-ranging coalition of health and nutrition advocates to further research and publicize good eating habits. The current 5 A Day coalition consists of the National Cancer Institute, the Center for Disease Control, the USDA, the American Cancer Society, the Produce Marketing Association, United Fresh Fruits and Vegetable Association and the California Department of Health Services. National 5 A Day has looked further into the dietary needs of other population groups based on age and activity level and is making specific guidelines for them. For example, in addition to five servings per day of fruits and vegetables now specifically recommended for small children and inactive adults, they recommend seven servings per day for more active women and less active men, and nine servings per day for teenage boys and active men. It has also added the words “and be Active” to its 5-A-Day message to promote overall good health.
   Last Wednesday, DHS’s Chief Foerster and Assistant Chief David Ginsburg were at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market to host the first California Salsa Challenge, co-hosted by Los Angeles Project LEAN. Participants included the Border Grill with its signature Chipotle Salsa, El Chollo Cafe with an elaborate fruit, nut and herb salsa, Chef LaLa’s Awesome Fire Roasted Salsa, and SMMUSD’s Five Color Melon Salsa. The public got to taste all four salsas and vote for their favorite, with minimal to heavy coaching from the participants. Each salsa had to include at least five ingredients – one each from a new list of color-coded phytonutrient categories that groups the nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables by color. The colors were green, orange, red, blue/purple and white, which indicate the presence of beta carotene, bioflavonoids, lutein and indoles that protect the body from certain diseases. Chef LaLa managed to walk away with top honors in the estimation of the hundreds of people who sampled tasty salsas and voted for their favorites, but each participant received special recognition from Chief Foerster for creativity and for promoting good eating habits.