Eating an adequate variety of vegetables

I remember growing up learning that vegetables are important for getting your “vitamins and minerals”.  While this is entirely true, this simplified notion unfortunately gives the message that vegetables can be replaced by simply popping a multivitamin.

While packing vitamins and minerals is entirely true, this is only the beginning of a very deep “rabbit hole” of vegetables’ wonder, and the more we learn about this undervalued food group, the more astounded we become.

Vegetables, for instance, contain various phytochemicals (non-nutrient, natural occurring chemical compounds which are biologically active). On estimate there are more than 200 known to man and inevitably many of which are still to be discovered and named.  Phytochemicals cannot necessarily be isolated or be reproduced in a laboratory setting (to be sold in tablet form), and even so it seems not to have the same effect taken in isolation as in the whole food.

Apart from risk reduction of certain Cancers, adequate vegetable (and fruit) intake are the only foods that have consistently been linked to a risk reduction of numerous diseases, including Diabetes, Hypertension, heart-, gastrointestinal-, eye, and lung disease.

Vegetables are also known for their dietary fibre content. Once again, dietary fibre goes beyond the simplified “roughage”  and associated bowel function as we all know.  Although healthy bowel function and movement is crucial to preventing for instance, diverticulosis and some colon cancers, once again, this topic goes much deeper.  There are many different types of fibre, all with different functions.  When eating an adequate variety of vegetables, both of the two main groups (soluble and insoluble fibre) are ingested.  This in turn has a positive effect on the health of your vital healthy gut bacteria (Probiotics), which is linked to a myriad of other health benefits, including mental health.

Aiming for packing half your plate with colourful vegetables for at least one meal per day is a practical way of starting your journey to sufficient vegetable intake.  Vegetable preparation does not have to be tedious or fancy, as chopping up a cucumber, grabbing a carrot or simply adding extra onion, mushrooms, green pepper etc to stews will do the trick.  Having a variety of vegetables is also key:  Some phytochemicals found in, example, broccoli (high in Isothiocyanates)  is not present, for instance, in tomatoes which is high in Lycopene.

When it comes to losing excess weight or weight maintenance, vegetables are the absolute winner: Their high water and fibre content acts as a bulking agent, without adding calories.  In other words, their calorie contribution is low compared to their volume:  A win for all!

  Helen Wessels  •  Dietitian  •  Master in B.Sc Dietetics 

  www.helenwessels.co.za