%0 Journal Article
%T The use of a commercial vegetable juice as a practical means to increase vegetable intake: a randomized controlled trial
%A Sonia F Shenoy
%A Alexandra G Kazaks
%A Roberta R Holt
%A Hsin Chen
%A Barbara L Winters
%A Chor Khoo
%A Walker SC Poston
%A C Haddock
%A Rebecca S Reeves
%A John P Foreyt
%A M Gershwin
%A Carl L Keen
%J Nutrition Journal
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1475-2891-9-38
%X We conducted a 12-week, randomized, controlled, parallel-arm study consisting of 3 groups of free-living, healthy volunteers who participated in study visits at the Ragle Human Nutrition Research Center at the University of California, Davis. All subjects received education on the DASH diet and 0, 8 or 16 fluid ounces of vegetable juice daily. Assessments were completed of daily vegetable servings before and after incorporation of vegetable juice and cardiovascular health parameters including blood pressure.Without the juice, vegetable intake in all groups was lower than the 2005 Dietary Guidelines and DASH diet recommendations. The consumption of the vegetable juice helped participants reach recommended intake. In general, parameters associated with cardiovascular health did not change over time. However, in the vegetable juice intervention groups, subjects who were pre-hypertensive at the start of the study showed a significant decrease in blood pressure during the 12-week intervention period.Including 1-2 cups of vegetable juice daily was an effective and acceptable way for healthy adults to close the dietary vegetable gap. Increase in daily vegetable intake was associated with a reduction in blood pressure in subjects who were pre-hypertensive at the start of the trial.Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01161706For almost two decades, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recommended that Americans consume a minimum of 5 servings of vegetables and fruits a day [1]. These recommendations are based on numerous studies showing that meeting the recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables is associated with a reduced risk for a number of chronic diseases, with the evidence for cardiovascular disease and stroke being particularly strong [2-5]. In 2005 the Department of Health and Human Services updated the Dietary Guidelines which recommended an increase in fruit and vegetable intake and changed the recommendations from servings to cups [6]. The new goal was
%U http://www.nutritionj.com/content/9/1/38