It is one of the most significant and important part of most diet plans - eat more fruits and vegetables. If it's not, you're on the wrong plan. Studies have shown that those who eat closer to the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables, are much more likely to be at a healthy weight. You could deduce from this finding that in fact, those people are probably more health conscious and do other things as well - like exercise regularly and avoid fast foods. That may be true. You wouldn't expect to be at a healthy weight if you drank 3 soft drinks and had a hamburger and fries everyday, just because you also happen to eat 7 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Or would you?

Perhaps the increased amount of fruits and vegetable does more than just provide more nutrients and better overall nutrition. Maybe the increased amount of fiber helps with regularity, decreases appetite, and cuts down on the spikes in hunger pangs that other unhealthy foods may cause. We know that foods that are nutrient-deficient leave the body feeling hungry again after a shorter amount of time than say foods with more roughage that take don't cause a roller coaster ride on the levels of blood sugar (think Glycemic Index diet). And with regular consumption of fruits and vegetables, energy levels can be maintained and steady, whereby a fatty meal is stressful to the body's digestive system and can leave you feeling sluggish and tired. Here's more on a study on the how weight loss is best served with a diet rich in fruits and veggies --

LONDON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - People on the Slim Fast Plan, Weight Watchers (WTW.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Pure Points Programme and two other popular diets get enough nutrients even though they are eating less, researchers reported on Wednesday.

All four diets, which also included the Atkins Diet and Rosemary Conley's "Eat Yourself Slim" Diet & Fitness Plan, helped people lose more weight than people who ate normally, the study found.

There was no significant difference between the diets in how much weight people lost, Helen Truby of Royal Children's Hospital in Australia and her British colleagues reported in Biomed Central's Nutrition Journal.

"Health professionals and those working in community and public health should be reassured of the nutritional adequacy of the diets tested," the researchers wrote.

Truby and colleagues asked 293 people on diets across Britain to record how much food they ate during a two-month period and compared the results with a group who ate normally.

They found that all four diets led to weight loss but that only people on the Weight Watchers plan boosted the amount of fruit and vegetables they ate even when the plans advised them to do so.

"These disappointing findings suggest that people remain resistant to the advice to 'eat more fruit and vegetables'," Truby said in a statement. (Reporting by Michael Kahn; Editing by Maggie Fox and Jon Loades-Carter) (Reference)

Bottom line: You won't go wrong with any diet plans if you add more of the good stuff to your daily consumption - either for weight loss or your overall health. Replace just one food that has been contributing the most calories to your diet (a diet vice) with a fruit or vegetable (how about a salad?), and you'll see some amazing results. This is the approach taken with the Vice Busting Diet Plans so we know it works. The hard part for most people seems to be getting started. Why? Because we view it as change. And change is never easy if you've been doing the same thing over and over for years. That's why these diet plans take it one step at a time so you can ease into it. Here's a tip: start buying just one extra fruit that you can enjoy each day, and do just that - enjoy it each day.

The Health & Wellness Institute

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