08/31/20

#57 So what is so good about Vegetables?

SO WHAT IS SO GOOD ABOUT VEGETABLES???

I have to say that over the years I have worked with many people who don’t like vegetables from mother’s who are worried about their 3-year-olds, to wives worried about their husbands and fully grown intelligent women who “hate that green shit” 😂

And whilst it is true that some people don’t digest some vegetables very well (fodmaps and irritable bowel syndrome) and some people have allergies and intolerances to nightshades, lectins, and salicylates. Right now let’s focus on the general population.

My hardest to convert was a woman in her 40’s who was adamant that she would not eat fruit or vegetables. I managed initially to get her to eat baby food like pureed sweet potato, pumpkin and apple put some good green stuff into her smoothies (which were really just milkshakes) and we built it from there.

Forget 5 a day - the science says that we should be eating 4 handfuls of fibrous veggies a day.

What are they?
Fibrous vegetables are everything except potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash and pumpkin, sweet corn.

Why?

Well, they may just save your life. They contain most of the minerals and vitamins that you need for good health.

• They fight cancer
• They fight heart disease
• They feed your microbiome
• They fill you up and keep you lean and healthy
• They keep the lining of your gut healthy

What about starchy carbs?

The potatoes of today are quite different from the vegetable of long ago we have apart from the low gi variety bred them into something white and fluffy but they are still high in Vit C and potassium and fibre.

The sad thing is that most of them are consumed as chippies or hot chips and it is the fat and salt that is the problem, not the poor old potato.
Kumara or sweet potatoes are lower GI which means that they release their carbohydrate content slowly. They are higher in beta carotene, which your body converts into Vitamin A which is fabulous for your immune function and fibre especially in or just under the skin.

In most vegetables much of the fibre and antioxidant content that protects the plant is found under the skin, so scrub, rather than peel off that layer of goodness.
Pumpkin, yams and winter squashes like buttercup and butternut and gem squash or Kamo Kamo are all great additions to your diet.

I love all of the great innovations around using cauliflower, broccoli and butternut rice and spaghetti squash and courgette noodles!
Apart from the starchy ones aim for 4 handfuls a day with as much variety as possible.

Include:

• mushrooms
• beets
• cruciferous vegetables
• brassicas
• onions
• garlic
• peppers

Replacing carbs at night with veggies is a no brainer - 1 cup pasta = at least 200 calories and very few nutrients!

1 cup of fibrous veggies = 25 calories and only about 10 of those will be used for energy but there are so many micronutrients hiding in there!

Taking out the pasta, rice or bread will make more room on your plate for these healthier options, and increase your fat burn overnight.