水果和蔬菜爲什麼很重要

Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is important for good health. Find out why experts say Mother Nature's bounty packs better nutrients than supplements.
富含水果和蔬菜的飲食對身體健康很重要。已經發現爲什麼專家說大自然的豐富贈品比營養補充劑更有營養。

If we are what we eat, then many of us must be tripping all over the place due to a lack of balance. That's because the average American eats about three servings of fruits and vegetables per day — a stark contrast to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) new guidelines stating that we should be eating 5 to 13 servings of nature's best, depending on the number of calories you need.
如果我們吃什麼是什麼，那麼許多人肯定會到處被絆倒，因爲缺乏平衡。那是因爲美國人平均每天吃三份水果和蔬菜——這跟衛生福利部和美國農業部新指導方針表明的我們每天應該根據所需的熱量吃5—13份天然的最佳食物。

So if we want to grow to be strong like Popeye, why can't we just down some supplements instead of devouring a pile of spinach?
所以，如果我們希望長得跟大力水手一樣強壯的話，爲什麼不吃一些營養補充品來代替吞食一堆菠菜呢？

Nutrients in fresh fruits and vegetables work together. Kristine Wallerius Cuthrell, MPH, RD, a research nutritionist and senior project coordinator for Hawaii Foods at the Center on the Family at University of Hawaii at Manoa, says that in the past five to 10 years, many large research studies have found that vitamin supplements don't provide the benefits that foods do. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, created jointly between HHS and USDA and reviewed every five years, say that foods are the best sources of nutrients because they contain naturally occurring ingredients, like carotenoids and flavonoids.
新鮮水果和蔬菜裏的營養成分一起發揮作用。公共衛生碩士，註冊營養師Kristine Wallerius Cuthrell是夏威夷馬諾大學以家庭爲中心夏威夷食品的一名研究營養學家和高級項目協調者，他稱，過去5到10年裏，許多大型研究已經發現維生素營養補充品不能提供和食物一樣的營養。2005年，衛生福利部和美國農業部共同建立並每五年進行審查的美國人飲食指南指出，食物是最好的營養來源，因爲他們含有天然成分，如類胡蘿蔔素和黃酮類。

"In addition to the substances we are aware of, there are many present in fruits and vegetables that have yet to be discovered. Food and the nutrients they contain aren't consumed singly, but with each other. As such, they may act in synergistic ways to promote health," Cuthrell says. For instance, eating iron-rich plants, like spinach, and the vitamin C in orange juice, is great for people who don’t get enough iron (typically young women).
“除了我們知道的物質外，水果和蔬菜裏面還含有許多沒被發現的物質。食物和所含的養分並不是單獨消耗掉，而且互相吸收。同樣地，它們以互相協作的方式促進了健康。”Cuthrell說。例如，吃富含鐵的植物，如菠菜和橙汁裏所含的維生素C，對於缺鐵的人來說是非常有用的（尤其是年輕女性）。

Fruits and vegetables may prevent many illnesses. Eating fruits and vegetables may reduce your risk of cardiovascular diseases, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and even some forms of cancer. The Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study examined nearly 110,000 people over the course of 14 years. Part of the study revealed that the more fruits and vegetables people ate daily, the less chance they would develop cardiovascular diseases.
水果和蔬菜可以預防疾病。吃水果和蔬菜可以減少患上心血管疾病，中風，第二型糖尿病，甚至一些癌症的風險。護理健康研究和健康專業隨訪研究觀察了接近11萬人超過14年裏的進程。部分研究發現，人們每天吃越多水果和蔬菜，他們就越少機會患上心血管疾病。

The relationship between fruits and vegetables and cancer prevention has been more difficult to prove. However, recent studies show that some types of produce are associated with lower rates of some types of cancer. For example, the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research suggest that mouth, stomach, and colorectal cancers are less likely with high intakes of non-starchy foods like leafy greens, broccoli, and cabbage. Though studies have been mixed, lycopene, a carotenoid that gives tomatoes their red color, may help stave off prostate cancer.
水果和蔬菜跟預防癌症之間的關係已經變得更難去證明了。然而，最近的研究表明，一些食物跟患上較少一些癌症有關。例如，世界癌症研究基金會和美國癌症研究院表明，高攝入無澱粉食物，如綠葉蔬菜，花椰菜和大白菜，那麼患上口腔，胃部和結腸直腸癌症的機率就會減少。儘管研究已經混合在一起了，但是番茄紅素，一種使番茄變紅的類胡蘿蔔素也可以幫助預防前列腺癌。

Fruits and vegetables are great for watching your weight. They’re low in fat and calories, and loaded with fiber and water, which create a feeling of fullness. This is particularly helpful for dieters who want more filling calories. Plus, that fiber helps keep you “regular.”
水果和蔬菜有助於控制體重。它們低含熱量，富含纖維和水分，可以創造出飽脹感。這對那些希望得到更多補充熱量的節食者來說尤其有效。另外，纖維幫你保持勻稱。

Fruits and Vegetables: Get Your Fill
水果和蔬菜：使你覺得飽脹

When adding fruits and vegetables to your diet, remember that variety is the spice of life. It's important to eat produce of various colors because each fruit or vegetable offers a different nutrient — think of it as nutritional cross-training. Trying new foods can be exciting, and be sure to sample every color in the produce rainbow.
在飲食中增加水果和蔬菜時，記住：多種類是生活的調味品。吃各種顏色食物是很重要的，因爲每種水果或蔬菜提供的營養不同——把這當成營養的交叉訓練。嘗試新食物是很令人興奮的，並確保品嚐五顏六色的食物。

The right number of servings of fruits and vegetables for you all depends on your daily caloric intake needs. A good way to find out how many servings you should be eating is by using the CDC's online serving calculator. Or make things even simpler by eating a fruit or vegetable at every meal and snack.
你所需的水果和蔬菜的正確分量依靠每天所需的熱量攝入而定。計算出你每天要吃多少分量的水果和蔬菜的一個好方法就是使用CDC的網上服務計算器。或者更簡單的方法就是每餐和所有零食都吃水果或蔬菜。

Don't let season, accessibility, or cost affect your fruit- and vegetable-friendly diet. If finding fresh produce is difficult, choose frozen, canned (low-sodium), or dried varieties. Also, 100 percent juice counts toward your servings, though it doesn't offer the full fiber of whole fruit.
不要讓季節，可獲得性或花費影響你水果友好和蔬菜友好的飲食。如果很難找到新鮮產品，那麼選擇冰凍，罐頭或乾的種類。同樣，100%果汁也算進你的分量，儘管它並沒有提供跟水果一樣的所有纖維。

The power of prevention may lie in a salad bowl or a plate of fruit. When we take advantage of produce, our bodies return the favor by reducing our risk of developing various illnesses.
預防作用就在於一個沙拉盤或水果盤。當我們從食物中受益，我們的身體將通過減少患上各種疾病的風險給予回報。