EATING the daily recommended portions of fruit and vegetables has never been more imperative, said uMhlanga registered dietician, Elmari Carelse, as it helps build up the immune system, and a strong immune system is what everyone needs especially now with the Covid-19 pandemic in existence.
“A strong immune system may not prevent you from getting Covid-19, but it will help your body repair better from it,” she said.
The daily recommended intake is two portions of fruit and three portions of vegetables per day.
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A press release issued by the Department of Basic Eduation and Department of Health read, that in the second year of the pandemic, with new variants rising and straining the country, the health of South Africans remains a top-of-mind concern. Covid-19 is not the country’s only battle.
“The country has high levels of diet and lifestyle-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension and Type 2 diabetes, as well as both significant under- and over-nutrition challenges.
All of these conditions make us more vulnerable to the coronavirus, but also highlight how much power we have over our health simply through our daily food choices.”
The departments are promoting the 2021 National Nutrition Week theme ‘Eat more vegetables and fruits every day’, starting on Saturday, October 9.
“Low-GI fruit includes strawberries, blueberries and basically anything with it’s skin on. Dry fruit is excluded as it’s high in sugar. If you have gut problems, you may want to exclude veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts and anything that is piliferous,” she said.
She added that this food group is high in fiber and that ‘fiber helps with everything.’ Carlese refers to them as the ‘soldiers of the body’.
“The main reason why we should be eating a total of five fruit and veggie portions per day is to build our immunity so we can fight off non-communicable diseases.
Fiber also helps improve gut health and reduces the risk of diseases such as diabetes,” she said.
“Remember, fiber and water go together, so you must increase you water in-take if you add extra fiber to your diet,” she added.
Adding the required amount of fruit and vegetables to one’s diet may not always be achievable.
Carelse advises her patients to look for easy ways to incorporate these into the diet.
These include adding a fruit to your cereal, snacking on fruit, adding extra veggies into stew and making smoothies.
“Place your fruit bowl where you can see it. Don’t hide it in the fridge. You can also make a healthy snack board of fruit.
Don’t throw out the water when you boil veggies – drink it or put it into a smoothie.
For children, I recommend not mixing everything together and cutting fruit into shapes,” said Carelse.
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