Fruit & Vegetable Serving Size
Healthy eating is essential for overall health and nutrition. It supports our immune system and reduces the risk of many chronic non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
A diet rich in fruit and vegetables can help you stay healthy and maintain the vitamins and minerals our bodies need.
The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend eating 2 servings of fruit and 5 servings of vegetables daily.
Fruit and vegetables come in many forms, shapes and sizes, meaning each serving size is different and therefore each serving is generally based on grams or (more accurate) kilojoules.
Fruit
The recommended amount of fruit is two servings because fruit is high in energy (kJ) and excessive consumption can contribute to poor weight management. The number of servings can vary for certain people. Some may be highly active and require more than two serves and some may be less active and require less energy for their body to process.
Tropical fruits such as bananas, mangoes, pineapple and papaya become sweeter as they begin to ripen, so it is best to eat these fruits just as they become ripe. Some fruits like watermelon have more fruit sugars in them compared to fruits such as berries and passionfruit. This means that when adding fruits on top of breakfast cereals, choosing those lower in fruit sugar is recommended. Having some fruit with yoghurt or as a snack in-between meals is a great way to incorporate fruit into your diet each day.
The Australian Dietary Guidelines define one serving of fruit as 150 grams and contains around 350 kilojoules (kJ). One cup represents a metric measuring cup or a household cup that holds a maximum of 250ml. One medium piece of fruit is roughly 150 grams and 1 small piece of fruit is roughly 75 grams.
Vegetable
Eating plenty of vegetables each day is important for overall health. Similar to fruits some vegetables should be consumed in moderation. There are two main categories of vegetables: starchy and non-starchy.
Starchy vegetables include legumes, corn, potato and sweet potato, taro and cassava. Non-starchy vegetables include leafy greens, asian greens, carrots, asparagus, beetroot, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.
Starchy vegetables are a good source of carbohydrates, fibre, minerals and vitamins, however, they may cause blood glucose levels to rise. Nonetheless, all vegetables are low in energy (kJ) and are a good source of vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre which help with regular digestion.
The Australian Dietary Guidelines define one serving of vegetable as 75 grams and contains 100-350 kilojoules (KJ)
What does a serve look like
