In order to prepare for the lead role in the 2013 biopic “Jobs,” Ashton Kutcher opted for a fruitarian diet. Maybe he wanted to get inside the insides of Steve Jobs, a sometimes fruit-centered eccentric.

Unfortunately, the diet landed Kutcher in the hospital with serious pancreas problems. (Jobs died of pancreatic cancer.) Clearly, it's possible to have too much of a good thing.

But that's not the problem for most Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most people eat far too few fruits and vegetables.

In fact, only 12% eat 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit daily (the minimum recommendation for basic survival), and only 9% consume the minimum of 2 to 3 cups of veggies a day.

And the consequences are more serious than Kutcher’s temporary hospitalization.

According to a paper presented at Nutrition 2019, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, as many as one in seven cardiovascular deaths worldwide may be related to not eating enough fruit, and one in 12 deaths could be from insufficient vegetable intake.

Fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other phytonutrients in fruits and vegetables help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol, and a hearty diet of fruits and veggies is associated with a 31% reduction in premature death, as well as lower cancer risk.

So amp up your fruit intake with, for example, a small apple, 32 seedless grapes, or eight large strawberries. Get more veggies with three long spears of broccoli, two medium carrots, one large tomato, or one baked sweet potato over the course of your day.