TAKE 5 - OR MORE HEALTH EXPERTS PULL OUT THE STOPS TO GET AMERICANS TO EAT THEIR FRUITS, VEGETABLES.

Byline: Ted B. Kissell Correspondent

Ask anyone if they know that fruits and vegetables are good for them, and they'll say, ``Yeah, sure, of course.'' They might not be able to tell you the exact number of servings they're supposed to be eating - it's five to nine, by the way - or the precise nutritional and health benefits of doing so, but the general message, ``Eat your veggies,'' has been hammered into our collective psyches from an early age.

So why hasn't the message caught on? ``You ask Americans what they actually eat, and the No. 1 vegetable is the french fry,'' says Dr. Michael Hirt, an internist and registered dietitian in Tarzana. The next two, he laments, are the potato chip and iceberg lettuce.

According to a recent study sponsored by the Produce for Better Health Foundation, a nonprofit nutrition education group, only 12 percent of those surveyed reported that they regularly ate at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

Health experts say the reasons for this veggie gap are complex, but the consequences of America's high-calorie, high-sugar, high-fat, low-fruit- and-vegetable diet are simple: It's making us sick. Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and other ailments that are either partly or completely related to diet have long since reached crisis proportions.

What's to be done?

Susan Foerster, chief of the Cancer Prevention and Nutrition Section of the California Department of Health Services, admits that her department faces an uphill battle in getting Californians to reach their daily requirements of fruits and vegetables. ``For a lot of people, it is a doubling,'' she notes.

Foerster's office runs California's 5 a Day program, part of a nationwide public-private partnership.

``We'd like to think we're going beyond awareness, into giving much more access, making it easy for people,'' she says, adding that the promotional materials tailored to the state's African-American and Latino populations have met with positive results, as has the 5 a Day-Power Play! program, which reaches half of all low-income fourth- and fifth-graders. Recent surveys have shown that Power Play! kids are now eating more fruits and vegetables than middle-income kids of the same age.

Despite such successes, Hirt points out that any such public-awareness initiatives will always be hopelessly outgunned by the marketing forces of all things fatty.

``If the total advertising budget of McDonald's represented one day of solid ads, the amount spent of promoting fruits and vegetables would add up to 12 minutes,'' he says.

Hirt and Don Kain, a senior health educator and registered dietitian with Kaiser Permanente in Panorama City, both work with patients who need to be on controlled diets. But the diet-modification techniques they employ work even better as preventive measures - which means, follow their free advice in this article, and you won't have to pay for their services later.

Kain says the most powerful educational tool he uses is all about portion control: At dinner, half of your plate should be taken up with vegetables. ``That's something everyone can relate to,'' he says. ``No one's plate looks like that, so that's a very tangible image.''

Foerster stresses that, while working the fruit-and-vegetable requirement into the modern American diet does require a few adjustments, it shouldn't be all that hard. Her basic plan: ``Start with some juice, plus fruit on your cereal for breakfast, a green salad with lettuce and tomato at lunch, and one or two vegetables at dinner.''

And once you get in that habit, you shouldn't have too much trouble ramping up your intake. Foerster says that, in January, the federal government is going to come out with its new recommendations, which will be - brace yourselves - five to 13 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. The trick will be, she says, making that number seem ``empowering, not off-putting.''

Yeah, good luck with that.

What's in a serving?

1 piece of fruit

3/4 cup fruit juice

1/2 cup cooked, cutup vegetables

1 cup raw green vegetables

For more information, check out:

www.5aday.com

www.dhs.ca.gov/ps/cdic/cpns/ca5aday

Will this work?

Is it possible to get the required five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables while eating the stereotypical American diet? The experts weigh in:

Hamburger: The lettuce and tomato you put on your burger can add up to a serving - if you're picking the right kind of lettuce. Dietitian Michael Hirt points out that iceberg lettuce, the most common variety, has so little nutritional value, it really only serves as a physical separation between the meat and the bun. If you must have that burger, Hirt says, put field greens or baby spinach on it instead, and he just might give you a point for a serving of vegetables.

Ketchup: While both Hirt and Susan Foerster of the California Department of Health Services point to the benefits of the lycopene in ketchup, which helps reduce the likelihood of prostate cancer in men, you could swallow ladlefuls of the stuff without making a dent in your fruit requirement. ``No amount of ketchup counts as a fruit or vegetable,'' Foerster declares, refuting the Reagan administration's classification of the condiment in federal school lunch programs.

Onion rings: It's not that frying itself sucks the good stuff out of the vegetable in question. There's still a perfectly good slice of onion inside all that crunchy tempura badness. It's just that the badness is too darn bad. ``In the 5 a Day program, we don't count fried foods, even fried zucchini,'' Foerster says. ``The amount of fat and calories just outweighs the health benefit.''

Shake: As long as you're not tossing in gobs of Cherry Garcia, this all- American favorite just might be your fruit-and-vegetable silver bullet. Hirt says he starts every day by throwing some frozen fruit - cheaper than fresh fruit and easier to keep handy - in a blender. If you do the same, and use low-fat or skim milk, that can be as much as three or four servings of fruit right there.

Salad: Again, Hirt takes pains to emphasize that iceberg lettuce is not your friend. But if you pile on the leafy greens, add plenty of tomato, carrot and other veggies, a side salad can give you one or two servings, a large salad three or four. Hirt, Foerster and dietitian Don Kain all emphasize the need to stay away from those fatty dressings, especially the creamy ones.

Apple pie: ``The reason apple pie doesn't increase your blood sugar as much as something like blueberry pies is the cinnamon, which helps lower blood sugar,'' Hirt says. Still, ``it shouldn't really count in your mind as ticking off one serving for the day. The sugar and fat really end up leaving you on the negative side.''

CAPTION(S):

6 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Something to chew on

How many fruits and veggies are in this meal?

(2) no caption (Cereal and fruit in a bowl)

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

(3) no caption (Salad)

(4) Hamburger

(5) Shake

(6) Apple pie

Box:

(1) Will this work? (see text)

- T.B.K.

(2) What's in a serving?