After a month of “busting” nutrition myths it seems only fitting to end with Canada’s Food Guide. Thanks for reading all month and I hope that you’ll continue to read as I return to my regularly scheduled ranting.
Myth 20: It’s too hard to eat all the vegetables and fruit recommended in Canada’s Food Guide.
What Dietitians of Canada says:
“It’s easier than you think! Canada’s Food Guide recommends adults enjoy seven to 10 servings of vegetables and fruit each day. That might sound like a lot, but serving sizes are not very big. For example, a medium fruit or half a cup of vegetables is all it takes to get one serving…”
What I say:
It is hard to eat all the vegetables and fruit recommended in CFG. That’s why you see campaigns like 5 a Day. If it was easy then we’d be seeing more than half of all adult Canadians eating the recommended number of food guide servings but we’re not. In 2008, 46.7% of Canadians reported consuming vegetables and fruit five or more times a day (Stats Can). Keep in mind that the minimum recommended number of Food Guide servings per day is seven, not five. Imagine how much lower the number of Canadians meeting the actual recommendations would be! So, should we lower the number of recommended servings to better match Canadian diets, just like the physical activity guidelines did? Probably not, it’s good to aim high. Just don’t feel badly if you’re not eating eight servings of vegetables and fruit a day. I know that on most days I’m definitely not. Put away your food guide and try to focus on eating a balanced, primarily plant-based diet and you should be okay.
