Here is one food group you can eat more of

The best way to get all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients you need is to eat a variety of colourful fruits and veggies daily. Photo: 123rf.com

Honestly, how many of you consume fruits daily?

And do you make it a point to eat sufficient amounts of vegetables every day?

Most of the time, fruits and vegetables are our least priority during meal times.

This is shown in the recent findings from the 2019 National Health and Morbidity Survey that almost all (95%) Malaysian adults aged 18 years and above consumed less than five servings of fruits and vegetables daily.

When planning our meals, the majority of us only ensure we have poultry and meats or protein-based dishes to pair with our rice/grains or carbohydrate-based dishes.

Those two food groups often appear in our main meals, but not fruits and vegetables.

This eating practice needs to be changed.

Consuming more carbohydrates and proteins will lead to an unbalanced diet, causing us to lack essential nutrients such as vitamin and minerals.

Instead, you should make fruits and vegetables the highlight of your meals.

Fruits and vegetables are placed at level two of the Malaysian Food Pyramid, which means it is the second most important food group in our diet.

The Malaysian Healthy Plate also recommends that fruits and vegetables should fill up half the plate.

These recommendations demonstrate how important fruits and vegetables are in nutrition and health as they are packed with essential nutrients, such as dietary fibre, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, some of which may not be found in other food groups.

Several studies have established the health benefits of consuming fruits and vegetables.

Increased intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and fish can decrease the risk of all-cause mortality.

Sufficient intake of fruits and vegetables also reduces the risk of diet-related chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes mellitus.

The high content of dietary fibre in fruits and vegetables supports good digestion, which is important for gut health.

Meanwhile, the different types of vitamins and minerals in fruits and vegetables are essential for various metabolic processes in our body.

Consuming fruits and vegetables of varying colours is recommended; these different colours indicate the presence of different phytonutrients, which are known to function as antioxidants with protective effects against diet-related chronic diseases.

Aim for five-a-day

The Malaysian Dietary Guidelines recommend at least two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables every day.

As a rule of thumb, we should consume one serving of fruit and one serving of vegetable during main meals.

Another easy way to ensure we get sufficient intake is by filling up half of the plate with fruits and vegetables, while the remaining quarter is allocated for grain-based dishes and another quarter for meat or legume-based dishes.

Remember the “five-a-day” rule to keep track of your daily intake of fruits and vegetables.

It is easy to enjoy the goodness of fruits by eating them raw or making juices or smoothies.

But for vegetables, they need to be prepared properly to maximise the amount of nutrients your body can absorb from them.

Here are some tips to make vegetables taste better:

> Eat it raw: Many vegetables can be eaten raw as snacks (e.g. baby carrot, cucumber), in salads (e.g. arugula, lettuce) and/or with dips (local ulam). This method retains the most nutrients from vegetables and is the quickest to prepare.

> Blanching: Vegetables are cooked by dipping them in boiling water briefly, followed with immediate shocking with cold water. This method uses less cooking time and minimises nutrient loss.

> Stir fry: Vegetables are cooked quickly in a small amount of hot oil while being stirred. You can get flavourful vegetable dishes with this method, while still retaining the colour, texture and nutritional content.

> Stew or soup: Ingredients are cooked in a small amount of liquid and served with the broth or gravy formed after cooking. Soups generally contain more liquid than stews. Some of the nutrients from the vegetables may be extracted into the liquid, so make sure you consume the broth or gravy as well.

Do note that certain phytonutrients in vegetables become more bioavailable after cooking.

For example, lycopene in tomato or beta-carotene in carrot will be absorbed easier by the body when it is cooked.

Mix them up

Some children do not like putting veggies into their mouths as the taste can be quite bland; there are even adults who do not consume veggies at all.

To encourage eating more vegetable, you can cook fresh vegetables by mixing them with protein-rich foods such as fish, shellfish, meat and mushroom.

These protein-rich foods contain glutamate, an amino acid that is the source of the fifth basic taste called “umami”.

Umami can be described as a savoury, meaty or brothy, and the taste is able to elevate and harmonise other flavours in the ingredients.

The flavour of umami can be used to make vegetable dishes more palatable and pleasant, as well as to stimulate our appetite.

One quick and simple formula to cook delicious and nutritious vegetable dishes is using the concept of Campur, Campur, Siap!

The key to healthy eating is via balance, moderation and variety (BMV).

Consuming more fruits and veggies is one of the main parts of healthy eating.

Remember to adhere to the BMV principle so that you will not over- or under-consume them.

Do not forget to apply healthier cooking practices and reduce the use of salt, sugar and oil, especially when incorporating veggies in your cooking.

There are no shortcuts to become healthy – invest your time and effort in practising healthy eating now and you will reap the benefits in no time.

Dr Zawiah Hashim and Dr Roseline Yap Wai Kuan are council members of the Nutrition Society of Malaysia (NSM). This article is contributed by Nutrition Month Malaysia (NMM) 2020, an annual community nutrition education initiative jointly organised by NSM, the Malaysian Dietitians’ Association and the Malaysian Association for the Study of Obesity. The information provided is for educational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.

Boost your health with the best vitamins on the market. Apply iHerb Promo Code for extra discounts