Nutrients in Vegetables
Eating and getting the nutrients in vegetables is one of the easiest ways to stay healthy and to prevent, combat, and reverse diseases.
Nutrients in vegetables include vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Phytochemicals help to prevent cancer, relieve arthritis, help to lower cholesterol levels, and neutralize free radicals in the body.
Cholesterol-free Vegetables
Vegetables generally contain no fat or cholesterol. They mostly contain a lot of water (alkalizing) and fibre. Vegetables are low in sodium too.
Vegetables can be easily eaten as meals, or as snacks, or as part of meals. Either way, they are very nutritious and contain a lot of what the body needs to function properly in plentiful amounts.
You can also add vegetables to your sandwiches; or to cakes when baking, and to soups and stews.
Leafy vegetables are basically plants with edible leaves. The most common of the leafy vegetables list include spinach and lettuce. They are low in fat, high in protein, high in phytochemicals, high in fibre, and contain folic acid, carotenoids, calcium and vitamin K.
Leafy vegetables also provide lots of iron, essential for the blood and preventing or combating anaemia.
Benefits of Eating Vegetables
Vegetables are outstanding sources of beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin B, potassium and fibre. They help to:
• keep your skin healthy and glowing,
• keep your eyes healthy,
• fight infection,
• fight heart disease,
• fight cancer,
• help regular elimination necessary for a healthy body,
• help to pass stools more easily,
• keep your bones strong,
• keep muscles healthy, and
• help to fill you up quicker, which is essential for weight loss and avoiding over-eating.
Any sub-group or combination of any set of vegetables in the vegetables list should be part of everyday diet. Make them first choice for snacks.
To avoid infection, do not buy bruised or insect-holed vegetables. Make sure they look fresh. If you are not sure, don’t buy them. There are plenty of vendors of vegetables everywhere.
Despite the unmatched nutrients in vegetables and huge amount of benefits from eating vegetables regularly, many people do not eat vegetables enough, with many not eating them at all. I used to be one of them.
And don’t forget the all-important vegetables for your kids too.
You have probably heard of the common recommendation “5 A Day”. The recommendation by the experts is to eat at least five portions of vegetables a day.
5 A Day
Keeping to the 5 A Day recommendation is not hard to accomplish, but very few people do this.
The fruits part of it is even easier to adhere to, because of the wonderful blessing of being able to juice. There are many affordable juicers out there. I’ve got two that I use. One removes the pulp of the fruits, the other doesn’t.
Nowadays, I tend to now use the one that just blends and doesn’t remove the pulp anymore, just to get more fibre.
So, what really is a portion of vegetables?
• 1 corn-on-the-cob
• 1 pear
• 1 medium carrot
• 3 heaped tablespoons of or peas or
• 3 heaped tablespoons of sweet corn
• 3 heaped tablespoons of beans or pulses
• A bowl of lettuce or other types of salad
• 1 glass of pure fruit juice (unsweetened)
• 2 inches or 5 cm of cucumber
• 1 apple
• 8 Brussels sprouts
• A handful of strawberries
• A handful of grapes cherries
• A bowl of salad
• 3 tablespoons of cabbage
• 3 tablespoons of lettuce
• 3 tablespoons of spinach
You can get the goodness and nutrients in vegetables just from following the 5 A Day recommendation.
