Eating 5 to 9 servings a day of fruits and vegetables may reduce your risk of cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and macular degeneration.

Fruits and vegetables are high in vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and phytochemicals. The antioxidants and phytochemicals in certain fruits and vegetables are showing promising results towards preventing free radicals or cancer-causing agents from damaging cells.

How to add more fruits and vegetables to your diet

Ways to add more fruits and vegetables to your diet include:

• Drinking100%  fruit or vegetable juice, or eating homemade fresh fruit cocktail with breakfast.
• Make a fruit smoothie for breakfast or afternoon snack (even throw in some veggies to add more nutrients).
• Having a fruit salad, a piece of fruit, or baby carrots instead of potato chips with a sandwich.
• Having vegetable soup or a garden salad with low-fat dressing as an appetizer.
• Stocking up on dried, plain, frozen (without added sauces and seasonings), and canned fruits (packed in 100% juice or water) and vegetables (low- or no-added sodium versions).
• Setting fruits and vegetables in bowls in the kitchen, making them more visible.
• Having microwaved vegetables with dinner.
• Taking prewashed cut snacks of fruit and vegetables with you to work or shopping.
• Choose fresh fruit prepared in a fun way as dessert.

Nutrition tip:

At your next visit to the grocery store, reach for apples and carrots for snacks instead of cookies and chips. For more convenience, choose precut or individually packaged fruits and vegetables, such as raw baby carrots, fruit cups, small boxes of raisins, or bagged salads.