What do I mean about not getting enough?
I'd tell you to get your mind out of the gutter - but regular readers know that when dealing with me, the gutter is a pretty good place to start.
In this case, however... I'm taking about not getting enough vegetables (mind the gutter - this isn't about sex!) and fruits (again... the gutter... ah, never mind!).
Here in Canada and the U.S. (I sometime refer to Canada as U.S. junior to amuse my easily amused American cousins), the recommended daily allotment of fruits and vegetables that we are supposed to consume to be healthy is an astounding five servings/portions.
I get maybe one or two veggies a day, and unless Orange Crush soda pop counts, probably zero fruits. Oh well.. I guess I'm going to die. No big deal. We're all going to die. And I sure don't want to die healthy - because dying defeats the whole purpose of being healthy.
For those of you who are unswayed by my colon, or perhaps soon to be semi-colan if I don't eat better, did you know that these five portions of fruits and vegetables we're supposed to eat everyday (here in North America) is still way under the daily recommended amount that the recently released European Heart Journal says?
Apparently a study done by the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition folks discovered that people who eat eight (8!) portions of fruits and vegetables a day are 22 per cent less likely to die from heart disease than those eating less than three portions a day—we're looking at you Andrew Joseph.
Either unbeknownst to Canada and the U.S.—or they simple figure there's no way in Hell we'd ever listen—many health bodies in other countries have for a long time been recommending people eat more than five (5) portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
What's this got to do with Japan and this blog?
Glad you asked. Did you know that current Japanese guidelines recommend 17 servings of fruit and vegetables a day! Seventeen!
What am I supposed to do? Eat a dozen cantaloupes, stuff four cucumbers down my throat (gutter - this isn't about sex!) and have a tomato.... I don't know if a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable... I do recall that former U.S. president Ronald Reagan declared tomato ketchup as a vegetable back in the 1980s - perhaps we could all suck on 17 packages of ketchup that you can pick up for free at McDonalds!
Anyhow... despite Japan recommending 17 portions a day, I'm pretty sure I never saw a single person eat that much fruit and vegetables in a day or even in a year. Hell, even that Japanese world champion food eater couldn't do that much.
Who has the time to eat that much fruit and vegetables during breakfast, lunch and/or dinner? Are the Japanese supposed to eat at their desk at work or school? You know that doesn't happen - ever.
What about afterwork? You mean after putting in an eight-hour day that takes 12 hours because you aren't allowed to leave the office until the boss does? (That would be bad form... and it's not like the boss is doing 12 hours of work either - he (not she) is probably sleeping in his office, or trying to figure out ways to make Japanese fruit and vegetable farmers richer or trying to figure out if it is humanly possible to eat that many fruits and vegetables and still not be considered a vegetarian.
Oh well... at least if Japanese people do eat 17 portions of fruits and vegetables a day like is recommend, the healthy aspects may counteract all of the smoking (and second-hand smoke) and drinking they do.
And... does anyone - without looking it up now - know what the heck a serving or a portion is?
Somewhere my body is confused by the sudden ingestion of fruit,
Andrew Joseph
PS: Okay... I looked it up: portions are all over the damn place. A portion of fruit or vegetable depends on what type of fruit or vegetable you are eating. I imagine it would also depend on the size of the fruit or vegetable, too.
Portion Control:
Vegetables:
Broccoli spears = 2 - though if you could get your hands on Britney Spears get as much as you can.
Carrots = 3 tablespoons... I assume these are diced and not whole. It doesn't count as a portion if it's not diced (kidding).
Green Beans = four tablespoons
Salad = a decent-sized bowl (what a healthful bit of information!)
Fruit:
Grapefruit = 1/2 fruit
Apple = 1 fruit
Cherry = 14 fruit
Kiwi = 2 fruit not the New Zealand bird or the person.
I didn't find (or look very hard) for how many tomatoes one should eat or whether it was a fruit or a vegetable.
Did you know that a lot of countries don't count the potato as a vegetable as part of the vegetables allowed in its daily allotment? So... McDonalds' fries are not a viable alternative.
Ketchup, despite what President Reagan may have wanted is not counted either. And... god help you all, did you know that a glass of unsweetened juice is only one portion regardless of the size of the glass? So... perhaps you shouldn't drink it straight from the bottle. Pour it into individual glasses and drink them one after another... because apparently that makes them into individual portions rather than using one super-sized glass.
Oh... apparently adding lemon or lime to your booze is not considered a serving despite the fact the booze is distilled from some sort of grain, fruit or vegetable.
PPS: As usual, it's best if you use your own judgement when determining what constitutes a serving or a fruit and vegetable. You could also go on-line and visit your country's governing Health organization and see if you can find out what you need to do to stay healthy.
PPPS: It was recently discovered that people need a minimum of two portions of Japan - It's A Wonderful Rife daily to keep their mental health. You have been warned.
I'd tell you to get your mind out of the gutter - but regular readers know that when dealing with me, the gutter is a pretty good place to start.
In this case, however... I'm taking about not getting enough vegetables (mind the gutter - this isn't about sex!) and fruits (again... the gutter... ah, never mind!).
Here in Canada and the U.S. (I sometime refer to Canada as U.S. junior to amuse my easily amused American cousins), the recommended daily allotment of fruits and vegetables that we are supposed to consume to be healthy is an astounding five servings/portions.
I get maybe one or two veggies a day, and unless Orange Crush soda pop counts, probably zero fruits. Oh well.. I guess I'm going to die. No big deal. We're all going to die. And I sure don't want to die healthy - because dying defeats the whole purpose of being healthy.
For those of you who are unswayed by my colon, or perhaps soon to be semi-colan if I don't eat better, did you know that these five portions of fruits and vegetables we're supposed to eat everyday (here in North America) is still way under the daily recommended amount that the recently released European Heart Journal says?
Apparently a study done by the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition folks discovered that people who eat eight (8!) portions of fruits and vegetables a day are 22 per cent less likely to die from heart disease than those eating less than three portions a day—we're looking at you Andrew Joseph.
Either unbeknownst to Canada and the U.S.—or they simple figure there's no way in Hell we'd ever listen—many health bodies in other countries have for a long time been recommending people eat more than five (5) portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
What's this got to do with Japan and this blog?
Glad you asked. Did you know that current Japanese guidelines recommend 17 servings of fruit and vegetables a day! Seventeen!
What am I supposed to do? Eat a dozen cantaloupes, stuff four cucumbers down my throat (gutter - this isn't about sex!) and have a tomato.... I don't know if a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable... I do recall that former U.S. president Ronald Reagan declared tomato ketchup as a vegetable back in the 1980s - perhaps we could all suck on 17 packages of ketchup that you can pick up for free at McDonalds!
Anyhow... despite Japan recommending 17 portions a day, I'm pretty sure I never saw a single person eat that much fruit and vegetables in a day or even in a year. Hell, even that Japanese world champion food eater couldn't do that much.
Who has the time to eat that much fruit and vegetables during breakfast, lunch and/or dinner? Are the Japanese supposed to eat at their desk at work or school? You know that doesn't happen - ever.
What about afterwork? You mean after putting in an eight-hour day that takes 12 hours because you aren't allowed to leave the office until the boss does? (That would be bad form... and it's not like the boss is doing 12 hours of work either - he (not she) is probably sleeping in his office, or trying to figure out ways to make Japanese fruit and vegetable farmers richer or trying to figure out if it is humanly possible to eat that many fruits and vegetables and still not be considered a vegetarian.
Oh well... at least if Japanese people do eat 17 portions of fruits and vegetables a day like is recommend, the healthy aspects may counteract all of the smoking (and second-hand smoke) and drinking they do.
And... does anyone - without looking it up now - know what the heck a serving or a portion is?
Somewhere my body is confused by the sudden ingestion of fruit,
Andrew Joseph
PS: Okay... I looked it up: portions are all over the damn place. A portion of fruit or vegetable depends on what type of fruit or vegetable you are eating. I imagine it would also depend on the size of the fruit or vegetable, too.
Portion Control:
Vegetables:
Broccoli spears = 2 - though if you could get your hands on Britney Spears get as much as you can.
Carrots = 3 tablespoons... I assume these are diced and not whole. It doesn't count as a portion if it's not diced (kidding).
Green Beans = four tablespoons
Salad = a decent-sized bowl (what a healthful bit of information!)
Fruit:
Grapefruit = 1/2 fruit
Apple = 1 fruit
Cherry = 14 fruit
Kiwi = 2 fruit not the New Zealand bird or the person.
I didn't find (or look very hard) for how many tomatoes one should eat or whether it was a fruit or a vegetable.
Did you know that a lot of countries don't count the potato as a vegetable as part of the vegetables allowed in its daily allotment? So... McDonalds' fries are not a viable alternative.
Ketchup, despite what President Reagan may have wanted is not counted either. And... god help you all, did you know that a glass of unsweetened juice is only one portion regardless of the size of the glass? So... perhaps you shouldn't drink it straight from the bottle. Pour it into individual glasses and drink them one after another... because apparently that makes them into individual portions rather than using one super-sized glass.
Oh... apparently adding lemon or lime to your booze is not considered a serving despite the fact the booze is distilled from some sort of grain, fruit or vegetable.
PPS: As usual, it's best if you use your own judgement when determining what constitutes a serving or a fruit and vegetable. You could also go on-line and visit your country's governing Health organization and see if you can find out what you need to do to stay healthy.
PPPS: It was recently discovered that people need a minimum of two portions of Japan - It's A Wonderful Rife daily to keep their mental health. You have been warned.
