Lauren RabainoDear Sarah,
I don’t eat any vegetables and I don’t plan to anytime soon; should I take a supplement or something?
– Eric
Business sophomore
I know you’ve heard your mom tell you to eat your vegetables a million times, but she probably never gave you a legitimate reason why, besides the proverbial “Because I said so.” Well, I tried to come up with a few more justifiable reasons. This is what I found:
Fiber and Energy:
Vegetables offer a large amount of fiber with very few calories, which helps to fill you up without expanding your waistline in the process. You can get just as much fiber from a variety of fruits if you really hate vegetables. Diets low in fat and high in fiber-rich foods like fruits and vegetables may help you maintain your weight or even reduce the risk of gaining weight. Increasing your intake of vegetables and fruit also naturally boosts your energy. If your diet is rich in high-protein sources, such as meat, cheese and eggs, it could be leaving you tired and weak. Fruits and vegetables can also satisfy your sweet tooth. When you turn to fruit for a sweet taste and quick energy, you get an added boost of nutrition that works for you instead of just “empty calories” found in sweets like candy bars and soft drinks.
Vitamins and Minerals:
The essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs are most efficiently absorbed from vegetables and fruits. This means that humans have never been able to reproduce a substance that offers as many readily available vitamins and minerals as nature’s own variety does. Even though vitamin supplement companies may publish that each serving offers you 100 percent of your daily requirements for most vitamins, it does not necessarily mean that all 100 percent is absorbed in your digestive tract. It seems misleading, but if you think about it, it’s really not. It is called a “supplement” after all, meaning that it is merely there to “supplement” your diet. The sole purpose of a daily multi-vitamin is to fill in for a few of the nutritional gaps that your diet may be lacking, and could never sufficiently make up for a diet completely void in produce.
Fiber and Disease Prevention:
Diets rich in fiber have been proven to decrease the risk of cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, about one-third of cancer deaths are diet-related. Fruits and vegetables are also extremely high in antioxidants, which rid the body of free radicals. I know that you may be thinking that because you are young, you don’t have to worry yet. The earlier you start incorporating fruits and vegetables into your diet, the smaller your chances are for developing diabetes, heart disease, and possibly even cancer. I’m not saying that you are going to get cancer if don’t eat your veggies, but I feel like it’s a better reason than “because I said so.”
How to eat them:
Eating your fruits and vegetables isn’t as hard as you think. Add canned beans and tomatoes to your chili or extra vegetables to soups or casseroles. Add frozen or canned vegetables to pasta sauce at the end of cooking. Make an omelet with avocado, tomatoes and peppers. Sauté frozen vegetables with soy sauce and chicken and you’ve got yourself a quick stir-fry. When eating out, ask for lettuce, tomatoes and onions on your sandwich. Order your entrée with the vegetable side dish. If eating Italian, choose pasta with marinara sauce. If ordering pizza, ask for double sauce and vegetables on top. When eating Chinese food, opt for steamed rice, vegetables and meats instead of fried options.
As far as portion sizes go, here are a few easy ways to remember what a serving of fruits or vegetables looks like. For example, a serving of chopped fruit or vegetables is about the same size of one cupped hand. A serving of leafy greens is about two hands cupped together. A 3/4 cup serving of fruit juice or 1/4 cup of dried fruit also count toward your five-a-day servings of fruit.
Sarah Bailey is a nutrition senior, a Mustang Daily nutrition columnist and a member of PULSE. E-mail your questions to her at slbailey@calpoly.edu.