Eating vegetables has a lot of health benefits. It has been related with lower risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, constipation and some types of cancer. Fruits and vegetables are a crucial part of a healthy diet.
Intake recommendations
It is important to prioritize seasonal and local vegetables since they are tastier, cheaper, more nutritious and sustainable. For adults, the recommended amount is at least 400g of vegetables per day. It includes every type of vegetable: green leaves, tomato, carrot, zucchini, eggplant, asparagus, broccoli, etc.
Nutritional composition of vegetables
- Low calorie density
- High amount of water (80-90%)
- Soluble and insoluble fiber
- Wide variety of vitamins. Mostly vitamin A, C, K and folates.
- Minerals such as potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, iodine, among others. Although they contain low amounts of sodium.
- Low in fat, except for avocado and olives.
- Bioactive compounds or phytochemicals. For example, flavonoids, carotenoids and anthocyanins. They have antioxidant capacity and numerous beneficial health effects.
Useful tips to help you eat more vegetables:
- Eat them for lunch and dinner. Try to make half of your plate vegetables.
- Add vegetables to your sandwiches. Some lettuce, sliced tomato, cucumber or vegetable dips (baba ganoush, muhammara, etc.) can work well.
- It is important to consume as wide a variety of these foods as possible since not all of them have the same nutritional composition. Try adding different colors (green, orange, red and purple) on your plate and it will ensure different properties. The colors of fruits and vegetables are often linked to the nutrients and phytochemicals they contain.
- Are you a fan of smoothies? You can incorporate some vegetables such as spinach, arugula, parsley, celery and cucumber in your smoothies. This way you will add some extra fiber and vitamins.
- Make it fun. Eating boiled vegetables all the time can be monotonous. Try other ways to cook vegetables such as grilled or sautéed in a wok. Also, you can eat them raw in salads (for example, onion, carrot, peppers, cucumber, etc.) or as a snack.
To sum up, eating more vegetables will improve your health. Make sure you consume them at least twice a day. To know if you are following the consumption recommendations of different food groups, we recommend that you record your intakes with LogMeal APP.
