The Importance of Vegetables

This is a box from Terra Organics - probably 1/3 of our veggies for a week.

I like to tell my practice members that there are lots of different ways to eat.  There is no one diet for everyone.  My own current choice of diet is a hybrid of paleo and primal, the latter being a paleo derivative designed by Mark Sisson, and made popular by his website, and his book, The Primal Blueprint.  I will cover this eating style more in future posts.

What I'd like to discuss now is the importance of vegetables in our diet.  When I design a meal for myself, or look at what I'm about to eat, I have two questions of about equal importance for me.

1) Where is my protein coming from?

2) What veggies are we having?

Vegetables are the bulk of my diet.  I eat nearly all vegetables.  They have the highest proportion of nutrients to calorie, making them what we call, a nutrient dense food.  This makes them far superior to almost anything else in terms of giving us the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that we need.  We also get, by eating the whole food, all of the other things within vegetables that we don't know yet are good for us but will probably discover somewhere along the line.  I say this because I don't have a recommendation on which vegetables to eat.  I usually just suggest that people a lot of them, and vary it up.  Don't stick with one or two, but experiment with a plethora of different types.  You don't really need to make sure you have your bases covered every single day. Have you ever noticed how a child could love a particular food one day, but not stand it the next?  They are likely (until they get older and develop a sweet/carb tooth) choosing foods based on nutritional needs.

You don't need to know that eating blueberries has been shown to decrease the fat around the midsection to know that they are a whole food, and a berry, and in moderation, can be a part of a healthy diet.  I don't try to keep track of which veggies stave off which cancers, and just try to eat with variety.

Now, some rules for vegetables.  In general, you want to buy organic and local.  The advantages are numerous, but studies have shown an improvement in nutrient composition in organic veggies by as much as 40% over conventionally grown.  And by avoiding pesticides and other harsh chemicals, you really are making a better choice for yourself and the environment.  The other thing you avoid when you eat organic is the possibility of genetically engineered foods.  These foods are dangerous, and have been banned in several countries.  Just say no!

Again, buy a variety of vegetables and learn how to cook them.  Get them fresh preferably to frozen.  As for cooking them, you can eat them raw, and some are probably better that way, but some studies have suggested that we can extract more of the nutrients through gently cooking them, which will also eliminate some of the anti-nutrients that are present in just about all foods.

If you have any questions, make sure you drop them in the comments box below, and as I'm still figuring this blogging thing out, I'll try to get to them as best I can.  Thanks!