Healthy fruits

 

The inside story of fruits;

Highlights

Measuring fruit and vegetable intake is accompanied by several theoretical and practical difficulties.

Inconsistency of serving size of fruits by different health organizations might puzzle consumers.

Fruits should be considered as a sub group of vegetables.

It was suggested to determine the serving size of fruits similar to a carbohydrate serving of 15 g.

Background and aims

Consumption of fruits and vegetables are important to prevent several diet related diseases. Many dietary guidelines including world health organization (WHO) recommend at least two fruits per day. Our aim here is to highlight theoretical deficiencies in the field of nutritional science that would possibly cause misinterpretations to assess the fruit intake worldwide.

Methods

Information regarding fruits and vegetables serving sizes were obtained from WHO, National Health Service UK, American Heart Association and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Nutritional compositions of fruits were collected from the USDA, Food Data Central database.

Results

Three main problems causing misinterpretations to the measurement of global fruit intake were identified. First, the absence of a clear definition to classify a fruit; second, lacking a scientific justification for the nutritional composition of servings of fruits; and thirdly, absence of a standard amount or size for a serving of fruits. Since the carbohydrates are the main nutrient in the fruits, it was suggested to determine the serving size according to the 15 g.

Conclusions

Nutrition experts and other reputed international organizations must focus their attention on scientifically backed definitions and serving size estimations of fruits.

Introduction

Humans depend on food to provide building blocks for tissue growth, reproduction, energy needed for metabolism, functions and activities, to recover from illnesses, and the compounds that are ‘necessary’ for normal metabolism, but cannot be synthesized within their body. There is no single food which provides energy and all nutrients in the right proportion. The five main food groups are a key component of the dietary recommendations introduced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1916, more than a decade before the establishment of recommended dietary allowances for the daily intake of calories and essential nutrients.

Since 1992, these food groups were graphically represented the form of a pyramid and has been commonly used as an instructional tool by the health community and by the food industry as a marketing tool.

The five food groups comprise of cereals (or equivalent), vegetables, fruits, meat (or equivalent) and milk/dairy. In general, each food group is irreplaceable as they provide a unique combination of energy and/or nutrients. Cereals provide energy primarily from starch and act as an important source of dietary fibre, fruits and vegetables play a significant role by supplying nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre. On the other hand, meats provide energy mainly from protein and fat but virtually no starch or dietary fibres. Milk and dairy products are rich in nutrients that are essential for good bone health, including calcium, protein, vitamin D, potassium, and phosphorus. However, the imbalance of different food groups in the diet have been widely recognized as a major public health issue. In 2017, according to a Global Burden of Disease study, the mean consumption of nuts and seeds, milk, and whole grains ranged from 12% to 23% of the optimal intake, while the mean consumption of processed meat and red meat exceeded the optimal intake by 90% and 18%, respectively. In addition, the consumption of sodium and sugar-sweetened beverages exceeded optimal levels in almost every region.