Why Are Veggies So Good For You?

We’ve all heard it (or most of us have anyways), maybe you’ve even heard it since you were a little kid – “eat your vegetables, so you can grow big and strong.” Mostly it’s a ploy for parents to get something healthy into their children, to get their kids to eat something they might not like, but they know to be beneficial to their growth and development.  Obviously this statement holds some truth, but what exactly is it? What makes vegetables so good for us anyways?

In a society that is overly saturated with outrageously sugary, high-fat, chemically enhanced and flavoured and coloured, and who-knows-what-else “foods” (and I use the term loosely because can anything that is produced in a laboratory or needs a scientist to make it really be considered food?), many people find themselves lost in the grocery store when it comes to a staple food group that offers such an abundance of benefits.

Sometimes when I’m at the store I take a peek into the carts of those around me. Arguably, unless you are shopping at Whole Foods all the time, the carts of the majority of people are filled with this processed junk, boxes & boxes of sugary cereals, boxed potatoes, canned pastas (yuck), potato chips filled with hidden sugars, sodium, artificial flavours and colours, and a myriad of other things that in no way resemble the diets of the past or even other parts of the world.  The real failing of our modern society, specifically in North America is that we are overfed, but starving to death – Hungry For Change (such a great, eye-opening, documentary...)

But I digress…

Obviously this week’s challenge is a Veggie Challenge, so I thought that it would be a fabulous idea to take this time to remind ourselves why vegetables are so good for us and why they should make up the bulk of our daily diets!

Vegetables are packed full of all sorts of nutrients!

Not only are vegetables an amazing source of Vitamins and Minerals such as Vitamin C, Iron, Potassium, Calcium etc. but vegetables are also bursting with PHYTOCHEMICALS.  

• CHART: Individual Breakdown of Vitamins and Minerals in Each Veggie

“In short, phytochemical ingredients are plant-derived compounds, which…protect the plants from environmental stresses, including insects, and weather ups and downs” (Why Veggies Are So Good For You”).  Even though these phytochemicals are not essential to human-life, they do offer significant benefits to our health and well-being.  Evidence shows that “phytochemicals are able to reduce the oxidative damage to our cells, that cause various diseases like cancer. Foods such as grapes, dark chocolate and carotenoids, sweet potatoes and green leafy vegetables are examples of phytochemicals full of antioxidant material which help us to fight diseases like cancer” (Why Veggies Are So Good For You).

Veggies are the Best Source of Dietary Fiber!

In addition to being such a significant source of Vitamins, Minerals and Phytochemicals, Vegetables are also the best source of dietary fiber.  Cruciferous vegetables as well as legumes such as beans, peas, and lentils contain plenty of fiber, which will help keep you regular… if you catch my drift.

Veggies are Great for Weight Loss!

Relatively speaking many vegetables (though non-starchy veggies are the best for this purpose) can be eaten in abundance, and unlimited quantities – they will serve to fill you up, and because they are full of fiber, they will assist in helping keep you full for longer periods of time.  They are low in calories, and high in nutrients and this makes them an ideal food when you are trying to get rid of those extra pounds.

While both starchy and non-starchy vegetables are part of a proper diet, the starchy selections (which contain more sugar) should be kept in check by making sure you are getting the proper portion size.  “Starchy vegetables include corn, peas, plantains, potatoes, squash, and yams, while non-starchy vegetables are all of the rest including artichokes, asparagus, beets, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cucumber, eggplant, leeks, mushrooms, onions, peppers, salad greens, spinach, tomato, and zucchini” (“Vegetables and Weight Loss”).

The key to harnessing the benefits of all of these veggies is without a doubt to eat as many and as much variety as you can.  Vegetables aren’t created equal – apart from the obvious differences of starchy and non-starchy varieties, they each offer different benefits and combinations of vitamins and minerals.

A Quick Guide to the Amazing Benefits of Some Common Fruits and Vegetables:

• Broccoli, cabbage and kale - The isothiocynanates in these cruciferous vegetables stimulate the liver to break down pesticides and other carcinogens. In people susceptible to colon cancer, these phytochemicals seem to reduce risk.
• Carrots, mangos and winter squash - The alpha and beta carotenes in these orange vegetables and fruits play a role in cancer prevention, particularly of the lung, esophagus and stomach.
• Citrus fruits, red apples and yams - The large family of compounds known as flavonoids found in these fruits and vegetables (as well as red wine) show promise as cancer fighters.
• Garlic and onions - The onion family (including leeks, chives and scallions) is rich in allyl sulfides, which can help lower high blood pressure and show promise in protecting against cancers of the stomach and the digestive tract. Also read Benefits of Garlic in Heart Disease.
• Pink grapefruit, red bell peppers and tomatoes - The phytochemical lycopene is actually more available after cooking, which makes tomato paste and ketchup the best sources of it. Lycopene shows promise in fighting lung and prostate cancers.
• Red grapes, blueberries and strawberries - The anthocyanins that give these fruits their distinctive colors may help ward off heart disease by preventing clot formation. Anthocyanins also appear to inhibit tumor growth.
• Spinach, collard greens and avocado - Lutein, which appears to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke as well as guard against age-related macular degeneration (which leads to blindness), is also abundant in pumpkins.

Source: (Vegetables and Weight Loss)

Be encouraged to add in more of the good stuff each day in order to crowd out the bad!

Sources:

“Why Veggies are So Good For You”
“Vegetables and Weight Loss”