You feel better not eating bread? Fair enough, if you genuinely do, don’t eat it.
You prefer sweet potatoes over white potatoes because they taste better, not because you deem them healthier? I can handle that too. Fruit? As long as it’s because you don’t like it and not because of some daft fructose alarm-ism that you have read about, I would disagree with you, but respect that.
You don’t like vegetables??
Sorry, but tough. You’re not getting that one.
I also find it very hard to believe considering there are over 4000 different kinds of vegetables around the world.
The benefits from vegetables are numerous and bountiful.
- Carotenoids and flavonoids are the two of the largest groups of phytonutrients, and there is no food group that provides them in amounts as plentiful as vegetables. Phytonutrients contain antioxidant properties that help prevent damage to cells (including cancer cell replication) throughout the body and have positive effects on the immune system, therefore your health. Incidentally, other great sources of phytonutrients are good quality coffee and dark chocolate, oh yeah!!
- Dietary fibre is critical for our health, not only on a daily basis, but on a meal-by-meal and snack-by-snack basis as well. Food cannot move through our digestive tract in a healthy way unless it is fibre-rich. And, vegetables are some of the very richest sources of fibre that exist, soluble and insoluble. Adults should be looking to get around 14-15g of fibre per 1000 calories consumed, far more than the 15g total which the average person consumes. Great vegetable sources include peas, broccoli, brussels sprouts and artichokes.
- No other food group comes close in terms of vitamin and mineral content, essential for allowing the body to function as effectively as possible.
- Eating lots of vegetables is an excellent way of maintaining weight management. Vegetables are mostly extremely nutrient dense for the small amount of calories per portion. Large portions of vegetables are so filling, they are great at satiating you, reducing the need to aimlessly snack at other times during the day. I would argue that is near impossible to over eat your daily calories in vegetables.
Is there any downside to vegetables? I suppose some veggies could trigger IBS in people who are sensitive to this condition (crohns and colitis also), especially if raw or highly fibrous. However, this can be tackled with a bit of research and investigation.
Convincing argument?
Make your breakfast/lunch/dinner plate as colourful as possible. The government recommends 5 pieces of fruit and veg a day. This should be the bare minimum, and try not to think of it as a box ticking number. Just get loads of vegetables on your plate, or in your hand raw, or in a smoothie, frequently, daily. If you can get it super fresh, get it local. Have fun preparing it and turning it into something awesome, simple and delicious.
This applies to you, your family and especially your children. If they are telling you that they don’t like vegetables, find a way!
References
2- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22078816
3- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11138444
