Eat More Fruits and Vegetables, Lose Weight

Probably a no-brainer, but further evidence that eating more fruits and vegetables reduce your chances of gaining weight and obesity. I've never seen a study that contradicts this, and also have never seen a study that proves eating more meat, dairy or fish and less vegetables reduces your chances of gaining weight.

To enhance your experience and get more benefits from your fruits and vegetables, look for organic as much as possible and eat as much of it raw and fresh, or at the most, lightly steamed. Once a vegetable is warmed over 120 degrees it starts losing enzymes, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. The longer you cook, the more the loss. Enzymes are essential for proper digestion and you want the nutrients as well. So eating overcooked, soggy vegetables do very little good for you, nutritionally speaking. Best choice is raw, second best is very lightly steamed (just a minute or two). Good eating!

National Library of Medicine: "Changes in intake of fruits and vegetables in relation to risk of obesity and weight gain among middle-aged women."

"RESULTS: During the 12-y follow-up, participants tended to gain weight with aging, but those with the largest increase in fruit and vegetable intake had a 24% of lower risk of becoming obese... For major weight gain (> or =25 kg), women with the largest increase in intake of fruits and vegetables had a 28% lower risk compared to those in the other extreme group. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that increasing intake of fruits and vegetables may reduce long-term risk of obesity and weight gain among middle-aged women."