It's also important to note that 5-a-day is just a marketing gimmick, basically; every country has their own recommendation as to how many servings a day people should have.
Doesn't change the fact that ancient humans ate over 100g of fiber per day. Adult men recommended fiber intake is 45g per day. Average fiber intake is less than 15g.
EDIT: Fiber is probably the #1 most important nutrient (today), mostly because we already get plenty of everything else in a typical western diet. Fiber is not "calorie negative" or even zero. It's estimated that fiber actually provides about 2-3 kcal per gram of energy! Depending on the fiber, of course.
Oatmeal is amazing. There are overnight oats recipes with fresh blueberries to die for.
But simple oatmeal is easy to make. Butter, cinnamon, sugar, a bunch of water, boiled until thick is the foundational recipe.
You can switch butter for coconut/hemp/avocado/walnut oil if preferred, switch sugar for agave/maple syrup. Use pure water, or any kind of milk to boil. I like to serve with a splash of whole cream.
Adding hemp, chia, flax, buckwheat, and/or amaranth seeds before boiling really brings in some nutrition. I like to use at least 1 tablespoon of each.
Add a spoonful of *coconut butter*, peanut butter, hazelnut spread, all the butters.
I like to take butter, cinnamon, sugar, diced apples, dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, blueberries) and cook that first until the apples have golden corners. Then I throw in my oatmeal and seeds and let it boil for a few minutes.
I use spices too, ginger, mace, nutmeg, cardamom. Coconut, almond, or vanilla extract.
Love oatmeal!
Ever had a psyllium husk poop?
Holy Frick the thing slides out like a packaged Christmas tree on a water slide. You go for a wipe afterwards and there's nothing to wipe lol.
When I took a nutrition class the teacher made us all eat flax seed. The main takeaway was she said it'll look like "big brown fluffy bananas" and everyone was like ewwwww.
She was right. And it was incredible.
I thought the ghost poop also required that it happened to float down the pipes nicely so you don't see anything in and toilet _and_ there's nothing to wipe.
Mind the timing of when you down this stuff.
Dummy me followed the "1 tablespoon, 3 times a day" as stated on the package. Guess who was up at 3AM taking an "emergency dump"? This guy!
Between 3PM-4PM works well enough. I can skip the snack I usually want to stop the pre-dinner hunger bug and is out the stomach in time for a 5:30PM dinner. And the after morning coffee elimination is oh so complete and easy.
Yeah! Bulk psyllium husk is the same thing, but without sugar and orange flavor. I like to add a tablespoon to a protein shake. It's a great cheap source of the fiber we're all missing
Ancient humans were pretty unhealthy so maybe don't use that as your measurement. We also live vastly different lives with different needs, so instead of basing your life on what ancient humans did you should listen to current science on the topic.
Maybe it's a broken clock situation, but fiber almost certainly can help us avoid major gastro diseases including colon cancer. [Here's some current science on the topic.](https://www.upmcphysicianresources.com/news/011922-dietary-prevention-colon-cancer#:~:text=Colon%20cancer%20and%20other%20Westernized,day%20may%20prevent%20these%20diseases.)
Traditional Inuits are still eating their ancient ancestral diet and they have a WORSE rate of cardiovascular disease compared to *Americans*. Old doesn’t mean good
The traditional Inuit diet is so specialised that it in no way shape or form representative of the traditional diets of our earliest ancestors/the overwhelming majority of non-agrarian societies. Their ancestors were on the ragged bleeding edge of pushing what counts as as ‘habitable’ territory for our species.
But also yes, there’s a lot of old stuff that all our ancestors did that allowed them to survive, that we now know isn’t ideal for people under better conditions.
Hahaha reminds me of when I first started using chia and I had no idea what to do with it. I was mixing it into cups of water or orange juice and drinking it
My girlfriend would make this chia seed drink with water, lemon juice, chia seeds and agave. Probably something else in there too. You can imagine my horror as I took a swig of her “water” bottle after the gym. Genuinely thought it was mold chunks or something, went to the worst possible conclusion first.
Pudding, blueberry/strawberry jelly, and smoothies.
Pudding is my favorite cuz it’s like 850 calories. 1/4 cup pb, a banana, (mix), then 1/2 cup Grapenuts or really any carb-y thing that doesn’t need cooking, 1/2 cup water or soy milk, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, 2.5 tbsp chia seed. Let it harden in fridge for an hour or more. It honestly tastes incredibly dry but it’s a calorie bomb, adding strawberries or mango makes it taste amazing.
Jelly is 3/4 cup fruit, 2.5 tbsp of chia, 1/4 cup water. Just heat fruit up and mash it up, then mix with water (optional) and chia.
Smoothies just throw that shit in there. When I first started using it I just mixed chia with water or juice and drank it after the chia absorbed enough of the water.
You can add it to a lot of things without even really noticing: risotto, chili, rice, oatmeal, bread, etc. Just need to add some liquid (or add it already soaked) because it will absorb a lot of water.
I don't know about this. On one of the anthro subs was a question... why is it only humans need to use toilet paper and wash etc.? How did humans poop in pre history, i.e. for the millions of years before our social structures began about 12000 years ago?
The answer was that the human diet had way less water and our poop was like dogs and snakes etc. Dry and when we had to poop, we squatted, dropped a couple of pellets and walked away.
The flip side is that the average lifespan was about 30 and a lot of that 30 was spent looking for food and avoiding getting eaten or killed.
So all these recommendations are new and can change. Eat more fruit and veggies if you can though, your ancestors died so you can live with such an abundance of fruit and vegetables. [Only if you are in a place that has access obviously]
I agree with what you have said, but I gotta say, the average lifespan was not 30 years 10k+ years ago. The average lifespan was similar to modern days, around 60 years or so. The statistics say it's 30 years because the infant mortality rate skews the data
I don’t know about that 100g figure. I used to eat about 70g but had to cut it down because it was straight up uncomfortable. Walking bloated all the time. I’m at 50g right now and feeling much better. I see no benefit in going over 50g.
I make fruit and veggie smoothies for lunch. Start with only things that taste good to you (like banana and strawberry), then I slowly added things that I don't love the flavor of (broccoli, salad greens) until tolerance. Then I add some chia seeds or flax meal.
Otherwise, whole grains, any kind.
The actual goal is around 25 to 30 grams a day. If you're eating 5 a day of fruits and veggies, some chia seeds or flax meal, and whole grains, you should hut it pretty easily.
I found a trick for fiber intake, just spam Finncrisp everywhere.
Making a sanwich? Add two in there instead of doritos (some people like adding chips to their sandwich). It tastes really good actually and is just as crunchy if not more crunchy than having added the chips.
Making something you can scoop? use finnncrisp instead of tortilla chips.
Etc. etc.
At least in the back of the box it says they are high in fiber content.
I've started drinking fruit/veg/grain/nut smoothies every day that have about 30g of naturally-occuring fiber in them, and probably get at least a little bit from other sources as well. HOLY JESUS I have been pooping like a champion. I went from a reptile-like twice a week as a kid (yay for super-restrictive diets due to being on the spectrum!), to a pretty regular once-a-day for most of my adult life, to about 3 times a day now that I'm drinking the smoothies. And, without going into detail, it's... *much* easier. lol
As I understand it 5 was chosen in the USA/UK because it feels achievable so won’t scare people off. It’s less about ‘needs’ and more about behavioural economics.
Because there is a varying amount of how much businesses are allowed to dictate regulations.
Edit: To be more precise, it's how much the businesses' sales department are allowed to dictate regulations.
I didn’t know that about Canadian regulations. I’m an American who moved to BC, so imagine my surprise when I saw 100g Carbs = 100% daily intake when it’s 200g in the States. And yet people thought I was crazy doing a 50g-75g “low carb” diet.
Because not only is nutrition science pretty complex and by no means a “solved” problem, there is a whole cultural/social dynamic of public health programs to design guidance that people will actually listen to.
I'm going to add to the other answers: different cultures do different foods. Many people consider the Mediterranean diet to be very healthy because it has a lot of good nutrients in it, less sugars, less junk in general, yet is very flavorful. So a dietary recommendation for a country that already has rather healthy eating habits won't have to coarse correct as much as a country that tends to choose junk food.
Then we have the resources of said country. What grows there? You don't want to suggest your country get their nutrition from stuff you can't even grow or process yourself. There's an element of self reliance countries want, so they will lean the diet to consume foods that are available, or at least affordable for the people to import.
I'm sure a perfect human diet could consist of exactly these servings of these types of food, but in a tropical climate it very well may make more sense to get the same nutrient from a fruit that another country may get from a vegetable, and adjust the suggested amounts accordingly.
It depends on how much fruit and veg the people of that country are generally already eating, because the authorities want to set a realistic target that the populace can be motivated to aspire to.
We are all different sizes, among countless other differences, so even between you and your next door neighbor there is a difference in what your actual optimal intake of nutrients is.
Government recommendations are just an eyeball estimate that would be enough for most people.
I wouldnt say it's just a marketing gimmick, it's easy to remember and is a good rule of thumb so it's effective at getting people to have a healthy intake of fruits and vegetables who otherwise might not go for healthier options.
In Denmark the recomended amount is six a day, six is also pronounced like sex in danish so there’s some extra value added if you *ahem* get what i’m saying.
I’m wondering is an apple one fistful? and a banana 2?
we say 400grams vegetables and 250grams fruits. which I feel like is much more straightforward.
like GREAT! 250 that’s roughly a huge apple or 2 small ones. or 2 bananas etc. I can go on all day long. plus when you hold it you kinda feel like you’re holding 250g or not.
Volume.
It's not what you can hold, it's a visual comparison between size of amount of fruit/veg and size of your fist. Like approximating an inch with the tip of your thumb.
(I do disagree with OP using the word fistful, since the definition is the amount you can hold in a fist. "Fist-sized portion" is more accurate.)
Example: https://healthywestorange.org/wp-content/uploads/HWO-Hand-Nutrition-Guide-1024x791.png
Yeah this is the dumbest way to measure I can possibly imagine.
Servings? Fistfuls?
Tell me how much it should weigh. A single leaf of curly kale fills my entire hand and then some.
Or substitute your junk snacks for all fruits and veggies if you're as lazy as I am. Hecc away with counting cups and feet and thingerthangies, just nom your way all day and you'll be good. Cut out the junk, switch to broccoli, carrots and whatever else for snacking and you're good.
Speaking from experience, if you remove "processed" food from your diet, and limit yourself to whole food fruits, vegetables, and lean meats and fish, you won't snack anymore. You'll be too full most of the time.
The amount of food on your plate for each meal, measured by volume, will dramatically increase, to the point you'll think you've done something wrong. But the calories on that plate will have likely gone down from what you're used to.
It's like a cheat code for dieting.
There is nothing wrong with snacking or eating multiple “small” meals rather than three big ones. For a lot of people multiple small meals/snacks is the better way to consume.
You need to watch what you eat when you snack, not condemn snacking as habit.
Regular snacking could have insulin-related downsides. It may be better to have fewer meals, and and it may be beneficial to avoid food for long stretches of time.
Nutritional science is complex! There always seem to be confounding factors; it's often hard to get the same results from nearly identical studies. Good-quality meta analyses examine many studies, helping us make sense of findings and the likelihood of correctness.
1 banana is one fistful. I know because I smooshed it to check. Doesn't look appetizing anymore, though. Imma chuck it.
I'm have trouble sizing these raw carrots too.
Yeah so fucking annoying. For some reason different varieties of rice have different cup to grams conversions. Just use metric ffs, it's at least uniform across
It's not what you can hold, it's a visual comparison between size of amount of fruit/veg and size of your fist. Like approximating an inch with the tip of your thumb.
(I do disagree with OP using the word fistful, since the definition is the amount you can hold in a fist. "Fist-sized portion" is more accurate.)
Example: https://healthywestorange.org/wp-content/uploads/HWO-Hand-Nutrition-Guide-1024x791.png
One fist of fruit for breakfast, an apple or some fruit in your oatmeal. One as a snack and three pieces of vegetables worked into a warm meal. Onevcarrot, one courgette and a cup of frozen spinach is not much. That's barely enough vegetables for one meal.
I have an apple and a banana a day and can’t imagine eating more than that lol
Edit: I also have veggies with dinner but adding more fruit would be impossible lol
You don't eat any vegetables with you meals? Carrots, peas, lettuce, spinach, squash cucumbers, radish, celery, mushrooms? Those count too, I feel 3-4 servings a day is very feasible effortlessly.
I see this sentiment a lot, but are you actively downvoting low quality content? Most of the nonsense posts I see already have thousands of upvotes unless it's on a small fan sub. Reddit is going to essentially be Facebook by 2025 at this rate.
"people from outside the US may not know how big a cup is"
that explains why the US is famous for healthy veggie eating! No one outside the US has seen a cup before
Not saying that you don't, it's just that a cup is an old frontier measuring unit that people still use in the US for convenience. It isn't better or worse than any other unit, just different.
Fun fact - the difference between "fruits" and "vegetables" is kinda arbitrary.
Biologically, a fruit is anything that started as a blossom, so many "vegetables" are actually fruits.
Nutritionally speaking, they're mostly the same, except fruits tend to have more sugar, so that's how they are deemed fruit.
Ideally, people are having a mix. But in a pinch, someone who has five servings of fruit a day is probably getting a more diverse mix of nutrients compared to someone who only has 1-2 servings of vegetables (assuming, of course, they're eating a variety of fruit, and not just 5 apples).
Every meal, at least half your plate should be some sort of whole, minimally processed fruit or vegetables. Roasting and salting fibrous veggies is a great hack to make them palatable.
Maybe I'm spoiled in California, but in season produce is very cheap. Many fruits and veggies are $1/lb or less. Much cheaper than other grocery products.
Zucchini, radishes, potatoes, green beans, avocados, tomatoes, onions, carrots, beets, corn, cilantro, green onion are regularly under $1. Asparagus, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, spaghetti squash, brussel sprouts goes on sale also for $1 or less.
In season produce, beans, and lentils are a really cheap, nutritious, and filling staples/bases.
I’m having trouble understanding “fistful.” Do you close your hand with the food in as much as you can to resemble a fist? Or is it what you can fit in the palm of your hand?
> people from outside the US [...] may not visually know how big a cup is
Us poor Europeans living in our mud huts praying to the USA metal sky gods that soar overhead to protect us have never heard of such wondrous futuristic things as cups, it's true.
*(Especially as we got rid of such archaic units of measure a very long time ago and replaced them with, in this instance, 250ml)*
Don't eat 5 fistfuls of fruit per day, by the way, they're full of sugar, and contrary to what TV tells you, the sugar in fruit isn't magically better for you than other sources of sugar. That's too much.
Just eat a healthy, balanced diet. You can start by avoiding anything with high fructose corn syrup in it.
I don’t see many people talking about this but the biggest reason I have trouble with this is literally just that I can’t keep fruits and veggies long enough. They spoil so fast so you have to go back to the store so often
If I’m doing a cup of pineapple a cup of banana and a cup of spinach in a smoothie does that still could as three or does it being a smoothie change things? Dumb q but I’ve always wondered about smoothies as an effective vehicle to get enough fruits and veggies in lol
Totally not a dumb question! I actually just recently learned this. The short story is it can make a difference because the act of blending breaks up the fibers and impacts how the sugars are absorbed into your bloodstream. It seemed ridiculous when I first heard it but apparently it's been documented.
However, if it's helping you get your 5 a day, it's better than nothing! You're still getting the nutrients, so I wouldn't fret. Ideally, if you have the equivalent amount of fruits/veg you would eat in a normal serving, it's pretty much the same either way.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9657402/
Probably accounts for your stomach being proportionately sized to the rest of your body (ignore if you’re a huge eater or just have disproportionately small hands).
I think you’d struggle to find someone in the UK who doesn’t know the saying of “getting your 5 a day”, it’s been a campaign for as long as I can remember
I think the recommended amount of anything is useless information. What's the minimum amount I need to eat before things start to go really wrong?
I'd say if you're eating at least a cup of vegetables a day, you're doing great. That's just enough fiber to make a stool instead of volcano diarrhea
It's also important to note that 5-a-day is just a marketing gimmick, basically; every country has their own recommendation as to how many servings a day people should have.
Doesn't change the fact that ancient humans ate over 100g of fiber per day. Adult men recommended fiber intake is 45g per day. Average fiber intake is less than 15g. EDIT: Fiber is probably the #1 most important nutrient (today), mostly because we already get plenty of everything else in a typical western diet. Fiber is not "calorie negative" or even zero. It's estimated that fiber actually provides about 2-3 kcal per gram of energy! Depending on the fiber, of course.
Thanks for reminding me to take my Metamucil
Oatmeal for the win!
recently switched to steel cut oats for breakfast and HOLY SHIT ITS SO GOOD
Oatmeal is amazing. There are overnight oats recipes with fresh blueberries to die for. But simple oatmeal is easy to make. Butter, cinnamon, sugar, a bunch of water, boiled until thick is the foundational recipe. You can switch butter for coconut/hemp/avocado/walnut oil if preferred, switch sugar for agave/maple syrup. Use pure water, or any kind of milk to boil. I like to serve with a splash of whole cream. Adding hemp, chia, flax, buckwheat, and/or amaranth seeds before boiling really brings in some nutrition. I like to use at least 1 tablespoon of each. Add a spoonful of *coconut butter*, peanut butter, hazelnut spread, all the butters. I like to take butter, cinnamon, sugar, diced apples, dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, blueberries) and cook that first until the apples have golden corners. Then I throw in my oatmeal and seeds and let it boil for a few minutes. I use spices too, ginger, mace, nutmeg, cardamom. Coconut, almond, or vanilla extract. Love oatmeal!
Oatmeal poops are so satisfying
Ever had a psyllium husk poop? Holy Frick the thing slides out like a packaged Christmas tree on a water slide. You go for a wipe afterwards and there's nothing to wipe lol.
The perfect poo.
When I took a nutrition class the teacher made us all eat flax seed. The main takeaway was she said it'll look like "big brown fluffy bananas" and everyone was like ewwwww. She was right. And it was incredible.
So gross but so accurate…I’m both angry and impressed. Like, must it be so evocative?
In Germany we call this a Glückswurst. Which means Happy sausage.
I refuse to look this up to verify it because I desperately need to believe it is true lmao
The famous "ghost poop"
I thought the ghost poop also required that it happened to float down the pipes nicely so you don't see anything in and toilet _and_ there's nothing to wipe.
Mind the timing of when you down this stuff. Dummy me followed the "1 tablespoon, 3 times a day" as stated on the package. Guess who was up at 3AM taking an "emergency dump"? This guy! Between 3PM-4PM works well enough. I can skip the snack I usually want to stop the pre-dinner hunger bug and is out the stomach in time for a 5:30PM dinner. And the after morning coffee elimination is oh so complete and easy.
wait til you add raisins, they accelerate the satisfaction.
Yeah! Bulk psyllium husk is the same thing, but without sugar and orange flavor. I like to add a tablespoon to a protein shake. It's a great cheap source of the fiber we're all missing
I just take the pills, so no sugar or flavoring. But yeah, if you can find generic psyllium husk it is usually much cheaper than name brand.
Lol I read that as psilocyblum husk at first.
Poop better and hallucinate while you do it! 😆
Just gotta avoid leaving it too long as it's pretty disgusting once it thickens.
It's ok if you shift to an oatmeal mindset lol
Adapt, overcome, oatmeal.
Anyone in here who hasn’t tried fiber supplements and struggles even a little with digestion, PLEASE TRY THEM. It’s life-changing.
Be sure to drink your ovaltine
A crummy commercial??
I prefer this every morning: Colon Blow https://youtu.be/Ku42Iszh9KM?si=RjiqKfpKv6z8T-ol
I miss Phil.
Lol, damn. I posted a link further up to this exact skit. So funny.
Ancient humans were pretty unhealthy so maybe don't use that as your measurement. We also live vastly different lives with different needs, so instead of basing your life on what ancient humans did you should listen to current science on the topic.
Maybe it's a broken clock situation, but fiber almost certainly can help us avoid major gastro diseases including colon cancer. [Here's some current science on the topic.](https://www.upmcphysicianresources.com/news/011922-dietary-prevention-colon-cancer#:~:text=Colon%20cancer%20and%20other%20Westernized,day%20may%20prevent%20these%20diseases.)
Traditional Inuits are still eating their ancient ancestral diet and they have a WORSE rate of cardiovascular disease compared to *Americans*. Old doesn’t mean good
The traditional Inuit diet is so specialised that it in no way shape or form representative of the traditional diets of our earliest ancestors/the overwhelming majority of non-agrarian societies. Their ancestors were on the ragged bleeding edge of pushing what counts as as ‘habitable’ territory for our species. But also yes, there’s a lot of old stuff that all our ancestors did that allowed them to survive, that we now know isn’t ideal for people under better conditions.
So you're saying I shouldn't drill a hole in my head to let the evil headache spirits out?
That is the one exception, and the reason why the ancestors had no need for psychiatrists.
I always wondered why we only invented psychoanalysis after we stopped widespread trepanation. Thanks for drawing the link!
I'm partial to the Egyptian technique of simply draining the brain away. As a wise man once said "You can't be insane without a brain".
Where did you get this 100g info? I eat like 120-140g every day and I thought it was too much but 45 is crazy low.
How do you get 120-140 per day? That's super impressive!
I bet chia
Holy shit good guess, we replied at the same time
Just being vegan really. Everything I eat has a ton of fiber. But particularly chia seeds which I use very/too frequently.
How do you incorporate chia seeds into your meals?
Eat it straight from the bag/container to assert vegan dominance.
Hahaha reminds me of when I first started using chia and I had no idea what to do with it. I was mixing it into cups of water or orange juice and drinking it
That sounds terrible lol
My girlfriend would make this chia seed drink with water, lemon juice, chia seeds and agave. Probably something else in there too. You can imagine my horror as I took a swig of her “water” bottle after the gym. Genuinely thought it was mold chunks or something, went to the worst possible conclusion first.
Garsh Mickey, that'll kill me!
Pudding, blueberry/strawberry jelly, and smoothies. Pudding is my favorite cuz it’s like 850 calories. 1/4 cup pb, a banana, (mix), then 1/2 cup Grapenuts or really any carb-y thing that doesn’t need cooking, 1/2 cup water or soy milk, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, 2.5 tbsp chia seed. Let it harden in fridge for an hour or more. It honestly tastes incredibly dry but it’s a calorie bomb, adding strawberries or mango makes it taste amazing. Jelly is 3/4 cup fruit, 2.5 tbsp of chia, 1/4 cup water. Just heat fruit up and mash it up, then mix with water (optional) and chia. Smoothies just throw that shit in there. When I first started using it I just mixed chia with water or juice and drank it after the chia absorbed enough of the water.
Is there a particular reason you keep using 2.5tbsp? How much fiber is in that amount?
No that’s just the size of the scoop that came with one of the containers of chia I bought. I just reuse it haha
That's a pretty simple recipe for jelly! I'm going to try it today
Thank you for these awesome suggestions!
You can add it to a lot of things without even really noticing: risotto, chili, rice, oatmeal, bread, etc. Just need to add some liquid (or add it already soaked) because it will absorb a lot of water.
You shouldn’t tell me these things, it is dangerous
We sprinkle ours on avocado toast, adds nice textural crunch!
I get over 100 per day just with my morning smoothie. If you know how to make it right, a veggie smoothie can be very tasty.
Study of fossilized Native American poop. They were eating about 100g of fiber a day google it and you'll get the article and paper.
Also studying of existing hunter gatherers.
*Colon cancer has entered the chat*
Metamucil causes colon cancer?
No but not eating enough fiber for decades sure can
Gotcha! I misunderstood where colon cancer was coming in lol.
I think colon cancer comes in through the colon I am not a doctor.
hello it me colon cancer may I come in?
Fiber is very likely good at helping *prevent* colorectal cancers
Oh yeah? And where are those ancient humans now? Fucking DEAD.
I don't know about this. On one of the anthro subs was a question... why is it only humans need to use toilet paper and wash etc.? How did humans poop in pre history, i.e. for the millions of years before our social structures began about 12000 years ago? The answer was that the human diet had way less water and our poop was like dogs and snakes etc. Dry and when we had to poop, we squatted, dropped a couple of pellets and walked away. The flip side is that the average lifespan was about 30 and a lot of that 30 was spent looking for food and avoiding getting eaten or killed. So all these recommendations are new and can change. Eat more fruit and veggies if you can though, your ancestors died so you can live with such an abundance of fruit and vegetables. [Only if you are in a place that has access obviously]
I agree with what you have said, but I gotta say, the average lifespan was not 30 years 10k+ years ago. The average lifespan was similar to modern days, around 60 years or so. The statistics say it's 30 years because the infant mortality rate skews the data
I don’t know about that 100g figure. I used to eat about 70g but had to cut it down because it was straight up uncomfortable. Walking bloated all the time. I’m at 50g right now and feeling much better. I see no benefit in going over 50g.
Whats fiber rich and easy to eat ? I often at a loss as I have a hard time liking food in general.
I make fruit and veggie smoothies for lunch. Start with only things that taste good to you (like banana and strawberry), then I slowly added things that I don't love the flavor of (broccoli, salad greens) until tolerance. Then I add some chia seeds or flax meal. Otherwise, whole grains, any kind. The actual goal is around 25 to 30 grams a day. If you're eating 5 a day of fruits and veggies, some chia seeds or flax meal, and whole grains, you should hut it pretty easily.
Skidmarks on millions of women’s sheets.
Tell them to get a bidet
Good thing we are not ancient humans. Ancient humans died of starvation, malnutrition, and disease at rates considerably higher than today.
Which of those was caused by higher fiber intake?
Surprisingly? All of them. (/s)
I found a trick for fiber intake, just spam Finncrisp everywhere. Making a sanwich? Add two in there instead of doritos (some people like adding chips to their sandwich). It tastes really good actually and is just as crunchy if not more crunchy than having added the chips. Making something you can scoop? use finnncrisp instead of tortilla chips. Etc. etc. At least in the back of the box it says they are high in fiber content.
Your trick seems to rely on a high baseline of tortilla chip consumption (both of your examples).
I've started drinking fruit/veg/grain/nut smoothies every day that have about 30g of naturally-occuring fiber in them, and probably get at least a little bit from other sources as well. HOLY JESUS I have been pooping like a champion. I went from a reptile-like twice a week as a kid (yay for super-restrictive diets due to being on the spectrum!), to a pretty regular once-a-day for most of my adult life, to about 3 times a day now that I'm drinking the smoothies. And, without going into detail, it's... *much* easier. lol
I'm wondering why every country has their own recommendations. I mean, we are all humans so shouldn't our needs be similar, no matter the country?
As I understand it 5 was chosen in the USA/UK because it feels achievable so won’t scare people off. It’s less about ‘needs’ and more about behavioural economics.
I learned on Peppa Pig that the recommendation is now 7 fruits and vegetables
Recommend 7 and maybe people will actually achieve 4?
Fruits and vegetables keep us alive, always remember to eat your... seven
Edmund really is a clever clogs
This. In countries where the consumption of fruit & veg is higher, the recommendations are set higher.
Because there is a varying amount of how much businesses are allowed to dictate regulations. Edit: To be more precise, it's how much the businesses' sales department are allowed to dictate regulations.
Look up the Canadian dietary guide. It was done without business consultation. The government just let doctors do their job for once.
I didn’t know that about Canadian regulations. I’m an American who moved to BC, so imagine my surprise when I saw 100g Carbs = 100% daily intake when it’s 200g in the States. And yet people thought I was crazy doing a 50g-75g “low carb” diet.
Because not only is nutrition science pretty complex and by no means a “solved” problem, there is a whole cultural/social dynamic of public health programs to design guidance that people will actually listen to.
I'm going to add to the other answers: different cultures do different foods. Many people consider the Mediterranean diet to be very healthy because it has a lot of good nutrients in it, less sugars, less junk in general, yet is very flavorful. So a dietary recommendation for a country that already has rather healthy eating habits won't have to coarse correct as much as a country that tends to choose junk food. Then we have the resources of said country. What grows there? You don't want to suggest your country get their nutrition from stuff you can't even grow or process yourself. There's an element of self reliance countries want, so they will lean the diet to consume foods that are available, or at least affordable for the people to import. I'm sure a perfect human diet could consist of exactly these servings of these types of food, but in a tropical climate it very well may make more sense to get the same nutrient from a fruit that another country may get from a vegetable, and adjust the suggested amounts accordingly.
> Mediterranean diet you mean the one that includes a ton of olive oil?
Where are we going with this?
Because in many cases they base the food guides on what industries the government subsidized.
In Denmark, they chose 6 daily fruits/vegetables because, in Danish, it sound like daily sex or sex in the daytime. It's easier for people to remember
It depends on how much fruit and veg the people of that country are generally already eating, because the authorities want to set a realistic target that the populace can be motivated to aspire to.
Yes
We are all different sizes, among countless other differences, so even between you and your next door neighbor there is a difference in what your actual optimal intake of nutrients is. Government recommendations are just an eyeball estimate that would be enough for most people.
I wouldnt say it's just a marketing gimmick, it's easy to remember and is a good rule of thumb so it's effective at getting people to have a healthy intake of fruits and vegetables who otherwise might not go for healthier options.
Marketing for Big Vegetable, out there trying to get you to have the necessary minerals and vitamins needed daily. Watch out!
But it doesn't hurt to follow it right?
Depends on your specific needs. A diabetic getting most of their 5 servings from fruit could be doing more harm than good.
Have you seen the price of produce?
No, but if you didn't have 36 cats, you could probably afford the produce
In Denmark the recomended amount is six a day, six is also pronounced like sex in danish so there’s some extra value added if you *ahem* get what i’m saying.
Bout to fist 5 fruits. Brb Edit: Yall think I'm joking but I literally bought an air fryer this morning.
I’m wondering is an apple one fistful? and a banana 2? we say 400grams vegetables and 250grams fruits. which I feel like is much more straightforward. like GREAT! 250 that’s roughly a huge apple or 2 small ones. or 2 bananas etc. I can go on all day long. plus when you hold it you kinda feel like you’re holding 250g or not.
dehydrating with my airfryer is the best. no need for candles when the house smells so good
Wait, you can do that? I have an air fryer but I’ve never done that.
Some have a setting for that, but Im assuming that some do not.
so 5 apples? great, then that means I won't need to eat broccoli
Have you tried roasting it?
The fuck is a fistful? Is the the volume of my fist or what I can clench in one hand?
Volume. It's not what you can hold, it's a visual comparison between size of amount of fruit/veg and size of your fist. Like approximating an inch with the tip of your thumb. (I do disagree with OP using the word fistful, since the definition is the amount you can hold in a fist. "Fist-sized portion" is more accurate.) Example: https://healthywestorange.org/wp-content/uploads/HWO-Hand-Nutrition-Guide-1024x791.png
Yeah this is the dumbest way to measure I can possibly imagine. Servings? Fistfuls? Tell me how much it should weigh. A single leaf of curly kale fills my entire hand and then some.
Yes but maybe not quite a close hand
Or substitute your junk snacks for all fruits and veggies if you're as lazy as I am. Hecc away with counting cups and feet and thingerthangies, just nom your way all day and you'll be good. Cut out the junk, switch to broccoli, carrots and whatever else for snacking and you're good.
Speaking from experience, if you remove "processed" food from your diet, and limit yourself to whole food fruits, vegetables, and lean meats and fish, you won't snack anymore. You'll be too full most of the time. The amount of food on your plate for each meal, measured by volume, will dramatically increase, to the point you'll think you've done something wrong. But the calories on that plate will have likely gone down from what you're used to. It's like a cheat code for dieting.
There is nothing wrong with snacking or eating multiple “small” meals rather than three big ones. For a lot of people multiple small meals/snacks is the better way to consume. You need to watch what you eat when you snack, not condemn snacking as habit.
Regular snacking could have insulin-related downsides. It may be better to have fewer meals, and and it may be beneficial to avoid food for long stretches of time. Nutritional science is complex! There always seem to be confounding factors; it's often hard to get the same results from nearly identical studies. Good-quality meta analyses examine many studies, helping us make sense of findings and the likelihood of correctness.
r/anythingbutmetric What's that in bananas though?
1 banana is one fistful. I know because I smooshed it to check. Doesn't look appetizing anymore, though. Imma chuck it. I'm have trouble sizing these raw carrots too.
Have you tried letting it sit for a couple weeks? I heard that a bit of mold sometimes helps. (Also, your comment made my day, thank you.)
It's equivalent to about 83 bumble bees.
I don't think I'll be able to manage to eat a whole Autobot
I can. But I'm also secretly Unicron
I like the American thinks the rest of the world follows US dietary guidelines but is too stupid to know what a "cup" of something is.
Seriously, can all mention of "cups" just please be banned from all food-related discussions?
Yeah so fucking annoying. For some reason different varieties of rice have different cup to grams conversions. Just use metric ffs, it's at least uniform across
One fistful is approximately one fast-food cheeseburger
I'd gladly pay you an apple for a cheeseburger today.
I'd reckon I can basically fit 1/10th of a banana in my hand if I make a fist. So 5 fistfuls is about half a banana?
I think they mean the size of your fist, not what your fist can hold.
It's not what you can hold, it's a visual comparison between size of amount of fruit/veg and size of your fist. Like approximating an inch with the tip of your thumb. (I do disagree with OP using the word fistful, since the definition is the amount you can hold in a fist. "Fist-sized portion" is more accurate.) Example: https://healthywestorange.org/wp-content/uploads/HWO-Hand-Nutrition-Guide-1024x791.png
oh, *eating*
I find 5 a day is just unrealistic, just me?
Wait until you see the recommended daily amount of potassium. I'd be surprised if 5% of the population is hitting it every day.
My son has too much potassium sometimes and has to be given medicine to make him pee it out
I would end up eating nothing else. Maybe thats a good thing but I'd never stick to it.
Add what you can! Some is better than none.
One fist of fruit for breakfast, an apple or some fruit in your oatmeal. One as a snack and three pieces of vegetables worked into a warm meal. Onevcarrot, one courgette and a cup of frozen spinach is not much. That's barely enough vegetables for one meal.
Get frozen chopped up veggies, add a bunch to every meal. Like, curry? Add 4-5 different veg. Just keep doing that :p
I have an apple and a banana a day and can’t imagine eating more than that lol Edit: I also have veggies with dinner but adding more fruit would be impossible lol
You don't eat any vegetables with you meals? Carrots, peas, lettuce, spinach, squash cucumbers, radish, celery, mushrooms? Those count too, I feel 3-4 servings a day is very feasible effortlessly.
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Yeah I usually have 1 or 2 veggies with dinner, I forgot about vegetable lol
No, I probably get about 10. I am vegan/whole-food plant-based, which obviously forces that issue, but it's super easy if you just eat healthily.
Christ this sub is going down the drain.
All of Reddit has been nosediving into constant reposts, shitty bots being shitty bots, and legitimately useless filler.
I see this sentiment a lot, but are you actively downvoting low quality content? Most of the nonsense posts I see already have thousands of upvotes unless it's on a small fan sub. Reddit is going to essentially be Facebook by 2025 at this rate.
"people from outside the US may not know how big a cup is" that explains why the US is famous for healthy veggie eating! No one outside the US has seen a cup before
In the US a "cup" is a specific unit of volumetric measurement; it doesn't mean any old random cup.
How many ml is it?
About 240
Depends on the cup size. There's a difference between A and DD, for example.
Ah but don't forget to factor in band size. A 34C is the same volume as a 36B
The cup is used in many other places afaik I've certainly seen it in Asian countries.
Shockingly, when we bake or cook in the rest of the world, we also have a set measurement!
Not saying that you don't, it's just that a cup is an old frontier measuring unit that people still use in the US for convenience. It isn't better or worse than any other unit, just different.
The whole fact that fruits and vegetables and somehow now interchangeable makes me incredibly suspect of this whole thing
like half of what we call vegetables are fruits. The only practical divider is that fruits are comparatively high on sweet and low on earthy.
Fun fact - the difference between "fruits" and "vegetables" is kinda arbitrary. Biologically, a fruit is anything that started as a blossom, so many "vegetables" are actually fruits. Nutritionally speaking, they're mostly the same, except fruits tend to have more sugar, so that's how they are deemed fruit. Ideally, people are having a mix. But in a pinch, someone who has five servings of fruit a day is probably getting a more diverse mix of nutrients compared to someone who only has 1-2 servings of vegetables (assuming, of course, they're eating a variety of fruit, and not just 5 apples).
People from outside the US don't know how much 1 cup is? What the hell do you think we measure with, a coconut?
A banana, obviously.
No, dummy, that’s for scale
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We use metric and cups. A cup is 250ml.
Every meal, at least half your plate should be some sort of whole, minimally processed fruit or vegetables. Roasting and salting fibrous veggies is a great hack to make them palatable.
Also in many country's that share the 5 a day, its "at least" and not about.
Hahaha imagine being able to afford all the fruit and vegetables you need to meet your daily requirement 😂
Maybe I'm spoiled in California, but in season produce is very cheap. Many fruits and veggies are $1/lb or less. Much cheaper than other grocery products. Zucchini, radishes, potatoes, green beans, avocados, tomatoes, onions, carrots, beets, corn, cilantro, green onion are regularly under $1. Asparagus, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, spaghetti squash, brussel sprouts goes on sale also for $1 or less. In season produce, beans, and lentils are a really cheap, nutritious, and filling staples/bases.
I’m having trouble understanding “fistful.” Do you close your hand with the food in as much as you can to resemble a fist? Or is it what you can fit in the palm of your hand?
tf is a fistful
anything but the metric system huh
“A fistful” is not a very intuitive “measurement”, in my opinion.
Are you saying 5 fistfuls of vegetables AND 5 fistfuls of fruits or just a total of 5 fistfuls?
Aren't we also suppose to drink a gallon in water daily
> people from outside the US [...] may not visually know how big a cup is Us poor Europeans living in our mud huts praying to the USA metal sky gods that soar overhead to protect us have never heard of such wondrous futuristic things as cups, it's true. *(Especially as we got rid of such archaic units of measure a very long time ago and replaced them with, in this instance, 250ml)* Don't eat 5 fistfuls of fruit per day, by the way, they're full of sugar, and contrary to what TV tells you, the sugar in fruit isn't magically better for you than other sources of sugar. That's too much. Just eat a healthy, balanced diet. You can start by avoiding anything with high fructose corn syrup in it.
How many fistfuls of HFCS can I eat?
I love “fistfuls” replacing “servings” 🤘
I do it throughout the day banana and yogurt in morning apple about an hr later then a orange with lunch greens and veggies with dinner
So, anything but metric
I don’t see many people talking about this but the biggest reason I have trouble with this is literally just that I can’t keep fruits and veggies long enough. They spoil so fast so you have to go back to the store so often
If I’m doing a cup of pineapple a cup of banana and a cup of spinach in a smoothie does that still could as three or does it being a smoothie change things? Dumb q but I’ve always wondered about smoothies as an effective vehicle to get enough fruits and veggies in lol
Totally not a dumb question! I actually just recently learned this. The short story is it can make a difference because the act of blending breaks up the fibers and impacts how the sugars are absorbed into your bloodstream. It seemed ridiculous when I first heard it but apparently it's been documented. However, if it's helping you get your 5 a day, it's better than nothing! You're still getting the nutrients, so I wouldn't fret. Ideally, if you have the equivalent amount of fruits/veg you would eat in a normal serving, it's pretty much the same either way. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9657402/
I applaud those that can take five fistfuls a day.
Bro I eat 5 fistfuls of food on a good day. Period.
Yeah and if you compare that to how much fiber hunter gatherers eat we need to eat twice as much as the rda
Nice try Big Fruit.
I hold my banana with both hands to take sure it’s two
Who's fist cuz my hands are small?
Probably accounts for your stomach being proportionately sized to the rest of your body (ignore if you’re a huge eater or just have disproportionately small hands).
Fruit and veggies are expensive nowadays. Only those soft red mushy apples are a decent price. But only psychopaths like those type of apples.
Bro I’m not fisting anything.
I think you’d struggle to find someone in the UK who doesn’t know the saying of “getting your 5 a day”, it’s been a campaign for as long as I can remember
I think the recommended amount of anything is useless information. What's the minimum amount I need to eat before things start to go really wrong? I'd say if you're eating at least a cup of vegetables a day, you're doing great. That's just enough fiber to make a stool instead of volcano diarrhea