Everyone knows that we should eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. But how many of us actually do it? Then too how much is a lot? Four apples and three pieces of celery. Six and five of the same? How much?
How about a benchmark of one piece of fruit along with one vegetable at each meal? Thus if one eats four meals per day, one might then have four apples along with four carrots as a daily part of his or her diet every day of the week. Is there anyone who would not see the goodness of that?
In a week's period of time, this would amount to twenty eight apples, alongside twenty eight stalks of celery. For most, this would sound like far more than he or she ever would consider eating. Yet, that is the volume that most professional dietary people have in mind when they stress the importance of these fiber rich foods.
Most of us intuitively know that this is what we should be consuming. Yet very few of us are as regular in doing so as we are in drinking coffee, for example. Most of us would never think of starting off our day without one, sometimes very large cup, to say nothing of yet another at mid-morning, and so forth throughout the day.
Why should we be so regular at coffee consumption but seldom at fruit or vegetable crunching? Partly it is because of convenience. There are coffee shops and coffee machine, but nothing similar for fruits and vegetables. In other words, one knows where there are numerous coffee shops, but is hard pressed to think of a nearby place which sells fruits and vegetables.
All due respect to those who satisfy oral urges and energy dips in a non-caloric fashion; but where is the same regularity when it comes to the fiber and natural nutrient supplementation, which comes from fruits and vegetables? Unfortunately it just is not there for most. Why?
The real reason that more of us do not eat our four apples along with our four carrots as regularly as we drink our four or more cups of coffee is that it is simply not grown up American to do so. In other words, everyone over the age of sixteen is supposed to know that eating carrots and apples is for health nuts, not serious adults in the modern day world. Consequently, we drink our coffee, most likely with a hamburger or sweet roll, because that is what we as full-fledged adults are expected to do.
Another way of saying this is anyone who expects to be taken seriously should not be raising his or her blood sugar level and filling his or fiber needs with a healthy apple or carrot. Rather, he or she ought to be drinking coffee, preferably without sugar or cream along with a standard snack such as dollar burger or sweet roll. And, that ought to be enough to keep him or her both adequately healthy as well as sharply productive in the workaday world.
All due respect should be given to American normality and the maintenance of our way of life. Nevertheless, which of the two groups--the coffee drinkers or the apple and carrot munchers-- will most likely be the healthiest after one entire year of their distinct ways of living?
The answer should be immediately obvious. But the socially acceptable nature of the former far outweighs that of the latter. Whence, being a normal American adult is just not very good for one's health. Or, it simply is not close to being as good as it could be,and perhaps should be.
