Episode Transcript
Announcer: Health Hacks with Dr. Troy Madsen on The Scope.
Dr. Madsen: Today's health hack is getting just three to four servings of fruits and vegetables a day. So personally, when I hear about how many servings of fruits and vegetables I'm supposed to eat a day, I get overwhelmed. And we're talking about recommended amounts of five to nine servings.
So this is based on a study that was done that appeared in the journal called, "The Lancet," where they looked at patients and they said, "Well, where's really this maximal benefit?" And they found that these individuals who were eating three to four servings a day, when they looked at their risk of heart disease, they seem to do just about as well as those who are getting even more than that. So the health hack here is have some fruit with your breakfast, have a banana, have an apple, have some snacks around the house, meaning having some fruit, having some fruit sitting out at eye level where when you reach for something, that's what you're grabbing.
And then if you can get three to four servings a day, feel good about yourself. Don't feel like you need to eat five to nine servings a day. You're probably getting just as many benefits to your heart by eating that amount.
Announcer: For more health hacks, check out thescoperadio.com produced by University of Utah Health.