Welcome  to  Public  Health  moment from  the  University  of  Minnesota. Fewer  than  one  in  five  Americans  eat the  recommended  daily  amount  of  fruits  and  vegetables, says  Jamie  Stang,  a  professor  and nutrition  expert  at  the  University  of  Minnesota. She  says,  a  balanced  diet  that  includes five  to  12  servings  of  fruits  and vegetables  provides  many  health  benefits. Fruits  and  vegetables  are the  major  source  of  fiber  in  the  diets  of  Americans. And  so  that's  a  definite  plus the  other  thing  that  you  really  don't get  from  many  other  foods, with  the  exception  of  maybe  whole  grains, are  the  antioxidant  compounds. They're  protective  against  both  heart  disease  and  cancer. And  we're  finding  that  there  may  be  other  diseases  like auto  immune  diseases  that  they may  also  be  beneficial  for. Stang  says  that  Americans don't  eat  enough  fruits  and  vegetables. In  part  because  availability  is  limited  in some  areas  and  because quality  produce  is  often  hard  to  find, especially  in  winter  months. As  parents,  how  can  we  convince our  children  to  eat  more  fruits  and  vegetables? Stang  has  some  advice. The  major  thing  for  parents  to  get  kids to  eat  more  is  to  model  the  behavior. If  parents  don't  eat  fruits  and  vegetables, children  won't  eat  fruits  and  vegetables. For  more  information  about  nutritional  guidelines, visit  my  pyramid.gov  with another  public  health  moment,  I'm  John  Finnegan.