Fruits & Vegetables To Eat When Dieting

Most fruits and vegetables are excellent foods to eat when you're dieting, even if you accept the theory that you lose weight by eating more high-fat and fewer high-carbohydrate foods. Unfortunately, millions of Americans are eating the wrong fruits and vegetables, according to "Food Review," a U.S. Department of Agriculture publication. The right fruits and vegetables will help you lose weight, provide you with essential minerals and vitamins, and reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease and other diseases.

Diets

Americans eat about half the number of fruit servings and about 80 percent of the number of vegetable servings recommended by the USDA, according to a USDA study. Six fruits--apples, apple juice, bananas, grapes, orange juice and watermelon--accounted for about half of Americans' fruit consumption. Approximately 26 percent of the vegetables consumed were potatoes, and about another 25 percent were canned tomatoes, head lettuce and onions.

Refinery Process

Fresh, unrefined fruits and vegetables are preferable to refined food because the food refinery process removes fiber and other nutrients and adds calories, according to "The New Pritikin Program." Juices are processed. A glass of orange juice has 122 calories, an orange 71, a glass of apple juice 117 and an apple 59, according to "Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease." French fries were included as vegetables in the USDA survey, but the agency also considers them "high-fat processed vegetable products" and urges people to eat fewer of them.

Fiber

Fiber-rich fruits and vegetables are so filling that they cause fewer cravings for more food, according to "The New Pritikin Program." They also cut your risk for colon cancer, heart disease and obesity, according to author Dr. Robert Pritikin. Berries, including blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, are among the fruits with the most fiber, according to the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. The vegetables with the most fiber include Brussels sprouts, lettuce, spinach, squash and turnip greens.

Blood Sugar

Foods that spike blood sugar levels rapidly cause body fat, according to proponents of high-fat, low-carb diets. These diets recommend high-fat foods to lose weight, but they also recommend fruits and vegetables that don't spike blood sugar levels rapidly. Most do not, including berries, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, spinach, squash, turnip greens, apples, grapes and lettuce, according to "The South Beach Diet" and "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution." These diets also don't recommend bananas, watermelons and potatoes because they spike blood sugar levels rapidly.

Minerals and Vitamins

You risk losing minerals and vitamins when you eat less food to lose weight. Consequently, you should eat a lot of low-fat fruits and vegetables with important minerals and vitamins. Apricots, peaches and prunes are loaded with potassium, while cantaloupe, kiwis, oranges have lots of vitamin C, according to the USDA's MyPyramid website. Collards, kale, mustard and turnip are loaded with calcium and iron, while broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower are full of vitamin, according to "An Invitation to Health."