What Types of Vegetables Should You Eat?
Vegetables are the best foods you can eat for your health and weight loss.
Put simply, vegetables are the healthiest foods on the planet.
They’re packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients and some protein (yes, protein).
Vegetables are like a sort of ‘anti-junk food’.
They’re naturally low in fat, sugar, salt and calories. But they help fill you up with health-promoting fibre.
Avoid or minimise refined carbohydrates such as cane sugar or white flour.
On the other hand, vegetables are exactly the sort of carbohydrate food you should be stuffing your face with on a daily basis.
It’s almost impossible to eat too many vegetables.
Their low-calorie high-water and fibre content fills your stomach before it can be totally overloaded with energy.
The only time vegetables become less than healthy is when they’re over-cooked. Or, when they’re smothered with lots of oil, fatty sauces, cheese, cream, oily dressings, butter, or other unnecessary additives.
So what type of vegetables you should eat, and why?
The following information is based on advice from medical doctor and nutrition expert Dr Joel Fuhrman.
1. Greens
Leafy greens, as Dr. Fuhrman advises, contain substances that protect blood vessels.
Greens are the most nutrient-dense of all foods. Greens are associated with reduced risk of diabetes.
They’re perfect for weight loss.
Greens can be consumed in virtually unlimited quantities.
Most of the calories in green vegetables come from protein.
This plant protein is packaged with beneficial phyto-chemicals.
Green vegetables are rich in:
- Folate (the natural form of folic acid),
- Calcium
- ..and contain small amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.
Leafy greens are also rich in antioxidant pigments called carotenoids, specifically lutein and zeaxanthin.
These are the carotenoids known to promote healthy vision.
Consider Kale, known as the ‘Queen of Greens’, and which has rightly earned the title of ‘superfood’.
Zero-fat Kale has, per calorie:
- More iron than beef
- More calcium than milk
- More vitamin C than oranges
- And is packed with potassium, vitamin K, vitamin A, omega 3 fatty acids, and anticancer, anti-inflammatory phytonutrients.
- These relate to the prevention and even reversal of arthritis, high cholesterol, heart disease, as well as bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate cancer, and several autoimmune diseases.
Common Green Vegetables
Here are some examples of some other green vegetables which you can find in most shops or markets:
- Artichokes
- Peas
- Asparagus
- Spinach
- Kohlrabi
- Zucchini
- Snow peas
- Parsley
- Turnip greens
- String beans
- Swisschard / silverbeet
- Mustard greens
2. Cruciferous Vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables, especially the Brassica (broccoli) family, are the cancer-fighting vegetables.
All vegetables, Dr. Fuhrman writes, “contain protective micronutrients and phytochemicals, but cruciferous vegetables have a unique chemical composition—they contain glucosenolates, and when their cell walls are broken by blending, chopping or chewing, a chemical reaction converts glucosinolates to isothiocyanates (ITCs)—compounds with a variety of potent anti-cancer effects.”
Because different ITCs can work in different locations in the cell and on different molecules, they can have combined additive effects.
They work synergistically to remove carcinogens, reduce inflammation, neutralize oxidative stress, inhibit angiogenesis (the process by which tumors acquire a blood supply), and kill cancer cells.
Give these vegetables a go!
- Cabbage
- Watercress
- Cauliflower
- Kale
- Chinese cabbage
- Collard greens
- Cauliflower
- Radish
- Aragula/ rocket
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Bok Choy
3. Root Vegetables
Root vegetables are basically underground plant parts used as vegetables.
They include both true roots such as tuberous roots and taproots, as well as non-roots such as tubers, rhizomes, corms, bulbs, and hypocotyls.
Try this mix of tropical and subtropical root vegetables:
- Cassava
- Sweet Potato
- Capsicum/Bell Pepper
- Eggplant/ Aubergine
- Turnip
- Potato
- Carrots
- Parsnip
- Beetroots
- Pumpkin
- Squash
- Taro
4. Onions
Vegetables in the onion or Allium family are anti-allergy, antioxidant, anti-cancer, antihistamine, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral.
Allium vegetables include garlic, onions and leeks.
They are among the best anti-cancer class of vegetables.
They help to facilitate detoxification and act as powerful antioxidants, stimulate immune responses and reduce inflammation.
One large European study found significant risk reductions in participants who consumed the greatest quantities of onions or garlic for oral, oesophageal, colorectal, laryngeal, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers.
This translated into a 55 to 80% reduction of almost all major cancers!
Allium vegetables can help to lower cholesterol, improve arterial functioning, diminish the risk of blood clots and reduce blood pressure. They are excellent sources of vitamins and minerals.
The World Health Organization (WHO) supports the use of onions for the treatment of poor appetite and to prevent atherosclerosis.
Onion extracts are recognized by WHO for providing relief in the treatment of coughs and colds, asthma and bronchitis.
An onion extract was found to decrease allergy-induced bronchial constriction in asthma patients.
Onions have been used as an ingredient in various dishes for thousands of years by many cultures around the world.
World onion production is increasing. Now onions are the second most important horticultural crop after tomatoes.
Here’s a list of vegetables in the onion family:
- Onions
- Garlic
- Leeks
- Spring Onion
- Shallots
- Chives
Isn’t it time you incorporated a daily serve of onions into your salad, stir-fry, casserole or stew?
5. Mushrooms
The marvellous mushroom has phytochemicals such as beta-glucan. This boosts immunity and the body’s ability to fight off cancer cells.
Mushrooms may also help to prevent respiratory infections. They do this by improving the production of protective immune substances by mucosal surfaces (like the mouth, nose and throat).
Frequent mushroom consumption has also been discovered to protect against breast cancer.
Mushrooms have been found to inhibit an enzyme called aromatase, which
produces estrogen.
Dr. Fuhrman advises us that mushrooms should only be eaten cooked. This is because several types of edible mushrooms contain a potentially carcinogenic substance called agaritine.
Cooking mushrooms significantly reduces their agaritine content.
There are a variety of edible mushrooms, including:
- Crimini
- Portobello
- White/button
- Shiitake
- Oyster
- Enoki
- Porcini
- Morel
- Chanterelle
Nutritarian Vegetable Eating Guidelines for Weight Loss and Health
3 ways you can get your fill of health-promoting veggies every day
1. Eat a large salad every day as your main dish – include such raw vegetables as aragula/rocket, lettuce, tomato, chopped onion, spinach, watercress, bell peppers/capsicum, carrots, bean sprouts, cucumbers, snow peas and lightly sautéed mushrooms. Add a nut and seed-based dressing for flavour to your salad, or mix some pre-cooked bean mix in for extra fibre and protein. If you want to have some wholemeal bread or whole grain flat bread with your meal, make sure it’s stuffed with salad as the bulk of the meal.
2. Eat one large (double-sized) serving of lightly steamed green vegetables every day – enjoy steamed greens such as asparagus, chopped kale, green beans, zucchini, bok choy, artichokes, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and collard greens. Around 10-15 minutes of steaming is plenty for greens. Don’t overcook them, or you’ll burn off the beneficial micronutrients within.
3. Eat mushrooms and onions every day – mushrooms and onions have powerful anticancer benefits. Mushrooms are better eaten cooked, because some mushrooms contain a mild carcinogen called agaritine, which is gassed off during cooking.
Eat Your Veggies Every Day
Enjoy your veggies and eat plenty every day, both raw and cooked.
You’ll enjoy these as an essential part of your weight loss plan, and be more likely to enjoy a long, healthy and happy life.
To Your Health and Happiness,
Tom Perry