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Dear Lucy: According to the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, an individual on a 2000-calorie-per-day diet should be eating two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables per day. I happen to like veggies more than fruit. Can I substitute an additional cup of vegetables for one of the cups of fruit? —Age of Asparagus

Dear Asparagus: The fruit and vegetable recommendations in the new Dietary Guidelines have been the source of much discussion. However, most questions about substitution seem to be coming from people who, unlike you, prefer fruits to vegetables. But in either case, the real question is this: From the perspective of a balanced, healthy diet, what is the difference between fruits and vegetables?

Not much, answers MIT Medical nutritionist Anna Jasonides, R.D. "Fruits and vegetables provide many of the same nutrients, including vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, folate, and dietary fiber," Jasonides tells Lucy. In fact, many foods that would be botanically classified as fruits (defined as "the mature ovary of a seed plant") are considered vegetables by most people—even people at the USDA, as it turns out. For example, in the vegetable section of "Inside the Pyramid" at MyPyramid.gov, the USDA's consumer website on the new dietary guidelines, four of the six "orange vegetables" listed—acorn squash, butternut squash, hubbard squash, and pumpkin—are technically "fruits." Other "fruits" on the government's vegetable list include cucumbers, eggplant, green or red peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini.

The bottom line, Jasonides concludes, is that as long as you are eating a variety of types and colors, fruit-vegetable substitution is fine, in either direction. Just watch your calories, she warns. "In general, fruits have about twice the number of calories as vegetables," she notes, so substituting veggies for fruits on the MyPyramid plan will mean making up the calorie difference by eating more, while substituting fruits for veggies will require borrowing calories from your discretionary allowance.

Happy veggie eating! And for more information on the new dietary guidelines, see the Summer 2005 issue of health@mit. —Lucy

Information contained in Ask Lucy is intended solely for general educational purposes and is not intended as professional medical advice related to individual situations. Always obtain the advice of a qualified healthcare professional if you need medical diagnosis, advice, or treatment. Never disregard medical advice you have received, nor delay getting such advice, because of something you read in this column.