Fruits and vegetables are key parts of your daily diet. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables of different kinds, as part of the healthful eating patterns described by these guidelines, may help protect you against many chronic diseases. It also promotes healthy bowel function. Fruits and vegetables provide essential vitamins and minerals, fiber, and other substances that are important for good health. Most people, including children, eat fewer servings of fruits and vegetables than are recommended. To promote your health, eat a variety of fruits and vegetables at least 2 servings of fruits and 3 servings of vegetables each day.
Different fruits and vegetables are rich in different nutrients. Some fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of carotenoids, including those which form vitamin A, while others may be rich in vitamin C, folate, or potassium. Fruits and vegetables, especially dry beans and peas, also contain fiber and other substances that are associated with good health. Dark-green leafy vegetables, deeply colored fruits, and dry beans and peas are especially rich in many nutrients. Most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories and are filling. Some are high in fiber, and many are quick to prepare and easy to eat. Choose whole or cut-up fruits and vegetables rather than juices most often. Juices contain little or no fiber.
The lists below show which fruits and vegetables are the best sources of vitamin A (carotenoids), vitamin C, folate, and potassium. Eat at least 2 servings of fruits and at least 3 servings of vegetables each day:
Sources of vitamin A (carotenoids)
Orange vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin Dark-green leafy vegetables such as spinach, collards, turnip greens Orange fruits like mango, cantaloupe, apricots Tomatoes
Sources of vitamin C
Citrus fruits and juices, kiwi fruit, strawberries, cantaloupe Broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, potatoes leafy greens such as romaine lettuce, turnip greens, spinach
Sources of folate
Cooked dry beans and peas, peanuts, oranges, dark-green leafy vegetables like spinach and mustard greens, romaine lettuce, green peas
Sources of potassium
Baked white or sweet potato, cooked greens (such as spinach), winter (orange) squash, bananas, plantains, dried fruits such as apricots and prunes, orange juice, cooked dry beans (such as baked beans), and lentils
NOTE: Read Nutrition Facts Labels for product-specific information, especially for processed fruits and vegetables.
Try many colors and kinds. Choose any form: fresh, frozen, canned, dried, juices. All forms provide vitamins and minerals, and all provide fiber except for most juices, so choose fruits and vegetables most often. Wash fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly before using. If you buy prepared vegetables, check the Nutrition Facts Label to find choices that are low in saturated fat and sodium.
Try serving fruits and vegetables in new ways:
Find ways to include plenty of different fruits and vegetables in your meals and snacks.
Store properly to maintain quality. Refrigerate most fresh fruits (not bananas) and vegetables (not potatoes or tomatoes) for longer storage, and arrange them so you’ll use up the ripest ones first.
Keep ready-to-eat raw vegetables handy in a clear container in the front of your refrigerator for snacks or meals-on-the-go.
Keep a day’s supply of fresh or dried fruit handy on the table or counter.
Fruit should only be eaten before a meal, never after.
When eating out, choose a variety of vegetables at a salad bar.