What exactly is a "serving?"?!
Answers: I just read an article that you should eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. First, do they mean 5 fruits and 5 vegetables or 5 total? Second, how the hell much is a serving? For example, is 1 carrot stick considered a serving?
You should aim for five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. It depends on what you are eating what is counted as a,"serving,"but a small fresh apple is considered a serving of fruit. Also,a 1/2 cup or 4 oz. of fruit juice or vegetable juice is considered a serving,so it just really depends on what you are eating or drinking.
You can never eat too much of fresh fruits or vegetables because if you go over five servings a day,there is nothing wrong with that at all. Just be aware that if you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables you will be very,"regular,"and not be constipated since fresh fruits and vegetables have lots of fiber! ;-)
good question. I think it might mean the caloric intake but my best sugestion is the canada food guide. Google it .
serving are counted by weight, the serving size is listed on the product.
The serving size of a food product is a confusing term, as it is found both on the Food Pyramid and on Nutrition Labels and has two related but differing meanings. The USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion sets the standards for these meanings in the United States.
Food Pyramid
The purpose of The Food Pyramid is to assist people in meeting daily nutrient recommendations while providing relatively few serving sizes for each food group.
According to the USDA, serving sizes in the Pyramid are determined through four factors:
1. The considering of typical portion sizes from food consumption surveys.
2. Convenience in relation to common measuring sizes.
3. Nutrient content.
4. Sizes from previous guides.
Some food groups receive different emphasis than others. See Food Pyramid for recommended daily servings.
Nutrition Facts Label
Nutrition Facts Label Serving Sizes are specific in their nutritional information to allow for easy comparison with other similar foods. Consumers may visualize important nutritional variations without excessive calculation. While designed for easy comparison with other similar products, such as Coke vs. Diet Coke or Fruit Loops vs. Frosted Flakes, the label is not meant for direct comparison with the Food Pyramid's recommended servings.
Serving sizes on Nutrition Facts Labels are loosely based on the amount of a product normally eaten in one sitting , or reference amounts, determined from nationwide food consumption surveys. The variation in caloric content per serving from product to product is normally because of the reference amount, not because of any set value or common unit.
Reference amounts affect serving sizes in one of three ways:
1. Bulk products, such as sugar, have sizes in common units of measurement, such as the cup or tablespoon, to show the quantity closest to the reference amount.
2. Commonly divided products, such as pie or cake, have a serving size given in a fraction of the whole product (e.g. 1/8 pizza).
3. Products which are sliced beforehand or are bought in distinct, grouped units (such as olives), are listed in the approximate number of units corresponding to the reference amount. For example, if the reference amount for olives were 30 g, and one olive weighed 10 g, the serving size would probably be listed as three olives.
Though "portion size" and "serving size" are used interchangeably, there is a difference. Knowing the difference makes it easier to compare what you eat to the MyPyramid's daily recommendations.
The USDA MyPyramid provides food group recommendations in "ounces" and "cups." Recommendations for the Grain Group and the Meat Group are provided in ounces, while recommendations for the Milk Group, Vegetable Group and Fruit Group are in cups. The serving size that is equal to an "ounce" or "cup" are provided for each food group. For example, 1 1/2 ounces of hard cheese or 8 fluid ounces of yogurt count as 1 cup from the Milk Group, and 1 slice of bread or 1/2 cup of cooked pasta counts as an ounce from the Grain Group. MyPyramid shows common serving sizes for a number of different foods within each group.
The amount we need from each Food Group depends on our age, gender and physical activity level. To find the amount that is right for you, visit "MyPyramid Plan" at www.MyPyramid.gov.
Serving sizes are also listed on the Nutrition Facts Panel of the nutrition label, along with the calorie and nutrient content for a serving. Serving sizes on food labels may be, and often are, different from MyPyramid servings. For example, the serving size for beverages is 1 cup, whether it's fruit juice, milk or soda. This allows you to use the nutrition label to compare similar foods. While the nutrition label tells us what people might typically eat, it is not a recommendation for how much we should eat. The number of servings in a package is also listed on the nutrition label. Keep in mind, many packages that look like single servings often contain two or more servings.
Portion size is the amount we eat at a meal or snack. Portion sizes can be bigger or smaller than MyPyramid serving size equivalents. Research shows that Americans are eating larger and larger portions, which may contribute to the current epidemic of overweight and obesity. For example, a typical bagel today may count as two, three or even four Grain Group servings. Considering that MyPyramid recommends 6 ounces from the Grain Group for the average American, with today's portions, it's easy to eat more than we need! Get out some measuring cups and a scale, and take some time to learn just what a MyPyramid equivalent serving is. Make a mental image, and use it to compare what your actually eat to what you need each day!
Here's a guide that tells what size serving each category is for adults.
http://www.lifeclinic.com/focus/nutritio...
This site has the guide for childrens serving sizes, broken down by age group:
http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healt...
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in general, a piece of fruit is considered a serving, and a cup of cut (raw or preecooked) vegetables is considered a serving. That would be between a carrot and two carrots, depending on the size.
This however, is just a general guideline, because some fruits like avocado have smaller servings (1/8- 1/4 of an avocado is a serving, depending on the size of the avocado). You're supposed 3-5 servings of vegetables, and 2-4 servings of fruit, so at least 5 combined.
About what you might give to someone to eat at one time. There are official guidelines to servings. Often meat is defined as something like 4 oz. but in reality we often serve 6 or 8 oz of meat. Technically, though, it has an official definition by weight (or volume).
I might have a small rib-eye steak for dinner, but officially it's probably at least two servings. If you drink a 20 oz soda, you'll see it's defined as 2 or 2.5 servings (figuring 8 oz is an official "serving").
5 total. A serving of veggies is usually 1/2 cup and fruit is the same. (That's why prepackaged fruit is in 1/2 cups, that's the suggested serving size.)