To hell with bro science

So how many vegetables should we eat?

According to the USDA, which is as good a place to start as any and probably reasonably accurate, a woman between the ages of 19 and 50 should have 2.5 cups per day, measured by volume, not weight.

https://www.choosemyplate.gov/vegetables

And also 2 cups of fruit.

https://www.choosemyplate.gov/fruit

No, really.  By volume, not weight.    Which means in theory you can estimate by using your fist, two fists a day of fruit, two and a hald of vegetables.  Or two and a half handfuls. 

https://lifehacker.com/5880630/use-your-hand-to-estimate-your-portions

It's not as much as you think.  it's not nearly as much as the bro science tells you.

To make it easy think in grams.  It's about 400 grams of vegetables, according to a new-ish study in The Lancet.

http://time.com/4920832/fruit-vegetables-legumes-servings/

But bro science, the "unconventional" conventional wisdom of the internet will tell you that there is no such thing as too many vegetables.  At all.  Ever.

For example, Buzzfeed.

In this video you have people trying to eat to the USDA guidelines.  Apparently this is a challenge.

 

But in this video a "nutritionist" "gets real" with people on their horrid diets.

 

 

For the record, a "nutritionist" is not an actual medical title.  What you're looking for is a dietician.  Also, that small bag of spinach she's pushing a day is about 300 grams.  Or so says the bag in my fridge.  Add in some other veg, some fruit, and you're easily near to doubling the amount of veg the USDA recommends.

But does that really matter?  Actually it does.

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/too-much-fiber

Yes, you can have too much fiber.  I know everyone says American's eat far too little, and I'm not denying that because I don't know everyone and have not seen the research, but it is possible to eat too much.  And fruits and veg are high in fiber.

And some of us are stupid sensitive to fiber.  Especially raw vegetable fiber.

Which is my long winded way of saying that I ate those two and a half cups of veg on Wednesday and paid for it all day Thursday.  My insides were so inflamed and painful I actually considered pain meds and this morning when the, ahem, problem resolved it had me in tears.

I need to craft a diet that is healthy for me.  Which means more evil, refined carbs and small amounts of cooked vegetables.  Because spending all day in the bathroom in pain, or being afraid to go out because you're afraid to be that far from your throne, is not okay.

And I need to not watch any more bro science.