Is the amount of vegetables and fruit in the RNFB realistic, given current food consumption patterns?
In Canada’s Food Guide, Health Canada recommends that adults have 7 to 9 servings of vegetables and fruit a day, depending upon age and gender, and that we have at least one serving each of orange and dark green vegetables daily. Most Canadians do not meet the recommended number of servings of vegetables and fruit. The gap is wider for Inuit and First Nations. Vegetables and fruit play a very important role in health. They are an important source of vitamins, minerals and fibre, as well as antioxidants and phytochemicals which are known help to prevent heart disease and cancer. In the traditional northern diet, these nutrients were provided by organ meats from game and birds, fish eggs and liver, and by wild plants. However, the consumption of these foods is very low today and Northern diets have been found to be lacking many of these essential nutrients. 21. How does the RNFB compare with current food consumption patterns of northern Aboriginal people? Current patterns vary from one r
