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There is no single food that can replace vegetables. To make up for the nutritional gap of vegetables, needs to adjust the overall diet .
In the case of eating very little vegetables, there is no harm in taking some compound supplements. However, in preventing chronic diseases, supplements have not been proven to have the same effect as vegetables .
How much do you lose if you don’t eat vegetables?
The mother who forced you to eat vegetables from childhood to the popular science articles that will be active in your information flow after adulthood tells you that eating more vegetables is good for your health.
I have a wealthy classmate who has achieved financial freedom. Yesterday I consulted me about his health problems. My advice is: eat more vegetables .
(see the end of the article for other stories about this classmate)
has a large number of epidemiological studies showing that eating more vegetables can prevent and improve cardiovascular disease and diabetes , and can also prevent esophageal cancer, colon cancer, A variety of cancers, including gastric cancer, , . If everyone can eat enough vegetables, can avoid unnecessary deaths from 7.8 million every year on a global scale. [1]
People who eat a lot of vegetables are also less likely to get fat. Studies have shown that for people who eat more than 320g (4 servings) of vegetables a day, the chance of gaining weight is only about one quarter of for those who eat less vegetables, and their waist circumference will be thinner. [2]
Therefore, my country's dietary guidelines recommend that each person eat 300-500g of vegetables per day, of which half are dark vegetables.
What should I do if I don’t eat enough vegetables? Although
understands the truth, many people don’t eat enough vegetables. According to the results of nutrition and health monitoring from 2010 to 2012, my country’s per capita daily vegetable intake is less than 270g, which is not up to the recommended amount .
As the pace of life continues to accelerate, there is no time to cook, there are few takeaway vegetables, and there are probably fewer people who can eat the recommended amount of vegetables per day. Some people at
even said, "I just don't like to eat vegetables, can I eat something else to replenish nutrition?". What nutrition is in
vegetables?
In terms of ingredients, the greatest contribution of vegetables to nutrition is reflected in:
vitamin C, vitamin A, folic acid and other vitamins ;
calcium, potassium, magnesium and other minerals ;
and provide satiety, beneficial to the intestines Healthy dietary fiber on. If
really eats less vegetables, you can also improve and pay attention to the existing diet and supplement accordingly.
Fruits are more convenient, but please note that besides vegetables, the second major dietary source of vitamins is fruit.
, especially berry fruits such as blueberries and strawberries, and citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruits, have relatively high vitamin C content. In addition, dark fruits such as cherries and bayberry, , can provide more plant compounds such as provitamin A and anthocyanins.
At the same time, the content of potassium and magnesium in fruits is also relatively rich.
Generally speaking, fruits are not as rich in vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and plant compounds as vegetables, but it is more convenient to eat raw, and it reduces nutrient loss during cooking, which is a good supplement.
But be aware that fruits tend to have higher sugar content than vegetables, and can’t eat too much . The recommended amount in my country’s dietary guidelines is 200-350g per day.
If you eat less vegetables, you can eat more low-sugar fruits (in fact, peaches, apricots, and watermelon are quite low in sugar, compared to dates and grapes, which have higher sugar content).
Staple foods eat more whole grains, whole grains
I usually recommend eating more whole grains such as whole wheat, brown rice, whole oatmeal, buckwheat, corn, millet, sorghum rice .
Compared with polished rice and white flour, the unremoved skin of whole grains contains more vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and healthy plant compounds.
People who don’t have enough vegetables should eat more whole grains and less white rice and white noodles. In addition to preferential selection of mixed grain rice , mixed grain porridge, you can also use potatoes, corn, beans to replace part of the staple food.
Eat more soy products and nuts, and drink enough milk
The calcium content in many leafy vegetables is 10 times that of milk , even if the absorption and utilization rate is a little worse, green leafy vegetables are still an important source of calcium in the diet, even The absorption rate of calcium in individual vegetables is no less than that of milk.
Calcium deficiency is quite common in our country. If you eat less green leafy vegetables, you should pay more attention to supplementing calcium from other sources.
such as drink at least 300g of milk every day , eat more soy products such as dried tofu, tofu, tofu , and eat a handful of nuts every day.
These foods are also good sources of protein. You can consider eating less meat and more beans, nuts, and dairy products. After all, eating meat can’t make up much calcium .
Don’t forget the fungus and algae
mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, fungus, white fungus, seaweed, kelp and other fungus and algae foods are rich in dietary fiber , which is much better than vegetables. If you eat less vegetables, you can also eat more of them. food.
However, these ingredients, which are either bought and made immediately or soaked in advance, do not seem to be more convenient to make than vegetables...
such as kelp and seaweed have higher iodine content. If there are problems such as thyroid nodules Be careful to avoid.
Restrict saturated fats and eat less refined sugars
In addition to the nutrients mentioned above, there are also some plant compounds in vegetables, under the comprehensive action of multiple ingredients , can play a protective effect on cardiovascular health.
If you eat less vegetables, you should pay more attention to avoiding foods that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease than people who eat a healthy diet, that is, fatty meat, processed meat, barbecue, sugar, and pastries. Eat less, salt and oil. Should be restricted.
In short, there is no single food that can replace the nutrition of vegetables. It is necessary to make changes in the overall diet to achieve a healthy state similar to eating a lot of vegetables. How about
supplements?
Many people think that it is really hopeless that you let me adjust my diet. Just tell me what supplements or panacea to take.
First of all, has no evidence to show that eating supplements can have the same effect as eating natural foods in terms of preventing chronic diseases.
But I have to say that modern nutrition has thoroughly studied the effects of many nutrients on the human body. In the case of basically not eating vegetables, it is still helpful to take some multi-vitamin and mineral supplements.
As for which brand to eat, which one to eat. From the perspective of cost performance, I suggest that you choose to buy a large foreign brand , which is generally not bad.
But you have to pay attention. For example, if you only eat vegetables and fruits, and eat a lot of meat, it is best not to add iron in the dosage form you buy .
also pay attention to the iodine content. If you usually eat takeaways and dine out and use iodized salt, the risk of excessive iodine intake may be higher. What about
plant extracts?
also has some such as green juice, barley leaves, plant extracts, dried powder, etc. These things are still valuable from the perspective of supplementing dietary fiber. has a certain effect on improving constipation. , including some potassium inside The mineral content is also very rich, and the absorption rate is often quite low, which is not too harmful.
For adults, it is more appropriate to eat 25-30g of dietary fiber per day. For children, it should be reduced in proportion to the energy requirement, basically 15-25g per day. You can refer to the dietary fiber content of
to calculate how much you can eat for a specific product. In short, should not exceed the recommended daily consumption on the product description.
But one problem with these products is that they are more expensive (US products are relatively more cost-effective than Japan). If you really don’t have money, you can choose these products as a supplement to your daily diet.
I personally suggest that you betterStock up on tomatoes and eat them as snacks. The nutritional value is much higher than that of these things. The effect of plant extracts is still not as good as eating vegetables directly.
