Recently, the National Health Planning Commission and the China Journalists Association jointly launched the “China Health Knowledge Dissemination Incentive Program”. With “fruit and vegetable nutrition and dietary balance” as the theme, to call on the public to increase fruit and vegetable intake, and strive to achieve half a catty of fruit and a catty of vegetables every day. Seeing the recommended amount of “half a catty of fruit and a catty of vegetables” per day, many netizens exclaimed, “This is too vegetarian, it is difficult to eat in.” Some netizens believe that they are not rabbits, it is necessary to eat so many vegetables and fruits? In fact, most of these ideas are not enough understanding of the health benefits of vegetables and fruits, or no quantitative concept of vegetables and fruits caused by. The health benefits of vegetables and fruits Vegetables and fruits are characterized by low calories and high nutritional value, and are an important source of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and phytochemicals. Among them, fruits are sweet and tasty and also provide sensory enjoyment. We all know that eating more vegetables and fruits is good, but what are the specific health benefits? First of all, it is good for cancer prevention. Fresh vegetables and fruits are recognized as the best cancer prevention food, and in a prospective study on nutrition and cancer conducted in Europe, about 8.7 years of follow-up for 142,605 men and 335,873 women, suggesting that for every 200g increase in total daily intake of vegetables and fruits, the overall incidence of cancer decreases by 4%. There is now ample evidence that vegetables and fruits can reduce the risk of oral, pharyngeal, esophageal, lung, stomach and colorectal cancers. Second, it can prevent cardiovascular disease. Studies show that coronary heart disease and stroke are negatively correlated with vegetable and fruit intake, and consuming one more serving (about 100g) of vegetables or fruits per day can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 4% and the risk of stroke by 5%, and is also beneficial for blood pressure control. Further, it can prevent type 2 diabetes. A meta-analysis published in 2010 in the British Medical Journal, which summarized the results of six large-scale epidemiological surveys involving 220,000 people and analyzed the relationship between their diet and the development of diabetes, found that increased intake of vegetables, especially leafy greens, reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes, and that this benefit could not be replaced by fruit. Regarding fruits, a Harvard meta-analysis showed that consumption of blueberries, grapes, and apples helped reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, while consumption of fruits such as bananas, plums, peaches, and apricots had a less pronounced effect, but consumption of fruit juices (including freshly squeezed juices) had the opposite effect. It increases the risk of developing diabetes by 8 percent. Thus, most vegetables and fruits are beneficial in preventing type 2 diabetes, while fruit juices do not have this benefit and may even be harmful. Fourth, it can help control weight. Vegetables and fruits are rich in water and dietary fiber, bulky, low in energy density and satiety, which is helpful in controlling caloric intake, and current studies also show that people with high vegetable and fruit intake have a lower risk of overweight and obesity. Finally, it can prevent constipation. The dietary fiber rich in vegetables and fruits can absorb water and swell, increasing the volume of stool, softening it, promoting intestinal peristalsis, reducing the time that stool stays in the intestine, and thus improving the symptoms of constipation. In conclusion, the low caloric density and high nutritional value of vegetables and fruits can perfectly compensate for the shortcomings of most people’s current dietary habits of excess energy intake and insufficient intake of micronutrients, dietary fiber and phytochemicals. Adequate intake of vegetables and fruits should be ensured. Can vegetables and fruits replace each other? Some people are going to ask again: I feel that vegetables and fruits have similar nutritional value, it is not convenient to eat vegetables, can I just eat fruits? Vegetables and fruits do have common characteristics, with more water, rich in dietary fiber, and rich in nutrients such as VC, carotene and potassium. But they are, after all, two different kinds of food, and there are quite a few differences, both from the nutritional and delicious perspectives. First of all, from the nutritional point of view, most vegetables (especially dark vegetables) contain more vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and phytochemicals and other healthful ingredients than fruits, including we often say that eating fruits can supplement VC, but in fact, overall, the VC content of vegetables is generally higher than that of fruits. Therefore, fruits cannot replace vegetables. However, fruits are rich in organic acids (including malic acid, citric acid, etc.), which can improve appetite, aid digestion, protect and promote the absorption of vitamin C and iron and zinc. At the same time, consumption of fruits generally does not require heating, reducing the destruction of nutrients by high-temperature cooking. From the perspective of deliciousness, fruits are rich in organic acids, sugars, aromatic substances, sour and sweet, plus a variety of special aromas, which obviously better meet the “greed” of people’s taste system, while vegetables, unless added more oil and salt, often taste bland, the stimulation of the palate is relatively weak. Therefore, vegetables and fruits have their own characteristics in terms of nutrition, the taste gap is also very large, can not replace each other. Why do we need half a catty of fruit and a catty of vegetables every day? According to the recommended intake (raw weight of edible portion) of the Chinese Dietary Guidelines, 200~400g of fruits and 300~500g of vegetables per day. when doing science education, in order to facilitate people’s memory, it is often simply summarized as half a catty (250g) of fruits and one catty (500g) of vegetables per day. However, many people listened to feel too much, not good to do. In fact, a medium-sized apple volume of fruit on about 180g (after the core of the edible part), do a plate of vegetables needed to raw weight is close to 400g. so every day to eat 1 to 2 fist-sized volume of fruit as a healthy snack, three meals are eating less than half a plate of vegetables, or the morning rush is not convenient to eat vegetables, noon and evening appropriate to eat more vegetables to make up, half a catty of fruit a catty of vegetables per day is not difficult. Not difficult. Remember: every day there are fruits, every day there are vegetables. In addition, fruits and vegetables are not the more the better. Fruit needless to say, although it is healthy food, but also contains sugar and calories, eat more of the same fat. And vegetables, because frying needs to add oil and salt, you may not have cooked heavy, but because the total amount of food is too much, the same may be accompanied by excessive intake of oil and salt. In short, vegetables and fruits are low in calorie density and high in nutritional value, which are beneficial for cancer prevention, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, weight control and constipation. Vegetables and fruits have their own characteristics in terms of nutrition and taste, and cannot be substituted for each other. About half a pound of fruit and one pound of vegetables per day is good advice to meet the health needs of the body without other health risks associated with excess.