What counts as a serving of vegetable?

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Hosting, Research, Writing & Post-Production by Lara Hyde, PhD

Music & Video Production by Robbie Hyde

The information in this video is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this video is for general information purposes only.

References

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Hey, welcome to Nourishable, I’m Dr. Lara. It is recommended that adults eat five to six servings of vegetables per day, but what counts as a serving? Let’s science it. One serving is the equivalent of a half a cup of veggies. Fresh, frozen, canned, dried, juiced, cooked and raw forms all count. This could be half a cup of mashed sweet potato, half a cup of cherry tomatoes, half a cup of canned green beans or half a cup of frozen cauliflower. Things are a bit different for leafy greens because they’re less dense, so their nutrients and calories aren’t as concentrated. One cup of raw leafy greens is the equivalent to half a cup of other veggies, so this cup of baby spinach counts as one serving of vegetable. This is referred to as a cup equivalent. But if your leafy greens are cooked then they’re counted the same as other veggies, so this half cup of steamed spinach is one serving of veggie. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends eating a diversity of vegetables from all the five subgroups: dark green, red and orange, legumes, starchy and other. Varying your veggies ensures that you get the whole wide range of nutrients provided by these plant powerhouses. That’s what science tastes like. Thanks for tuning into Nourishable, check out all my references in the video descriptions and subscribe to stay up to date on all things nutrition.

[allnighter]

I have to say, this was the most straight forward, easy to follow explanation i found so far, and I watched many videos and checked many sites and they made it so complicated... thanks Dr.

[Nighthawk]

I wish they gave serving sizes by weight instead of volume. I'm going overthink the hell out of this and wonder if the gaps in the cup count against my serving size ಠಿ_ಠ

[GrahamHorganOnline]

Thank you Laura. That was very helpful.

[fetpippins]

Very informative and your measuring cup is so cute. Thank you for your video.

[GameForReal]

Hi, Saw you video on meal replacement shakes, In Denmark we have one called "nupo" and they say it is the worlds oldest and most well documented VLCD out there. So if you wanted one with Studies you could try that one - Nupo diet powder has been developed by obesity researchers, among others. a. Consultant Flemming Quaade, at Hvidovre Hospital back in the 1980s and they say has then been improved. Thanks for your videos =)

[zynthos]

Why do all my frozen fruit packages say 2/3 is a cup?

[meljon]

According to the 2010 Fruit and Vegetable Alliance Report, the average American should be consuming five to thirteen servings a day.