WHY YOU SHOULD CHANGE (OR KEEP) YOUR
CURRENT EATING HABITS...
At some point in our growing up years, we’ve heard the phrase “eat
your vegetables” from mom, dad, grandma, or other caretaker. The
reasons for eating them ranged from obscure and unproven (it makes
your hair curly!) to practical (if you don’t eat your vegetables,
you won’t get dessert). But in the end, they were right, it’s a
good idea to eat your vegetables for well-founded reasons. In fact, this
simple phrase, “eat your vegetables” is probably the best dietary
advice ever.
The Vegetable Challenge
A good nutrition plan includes plenty of vegetables, at least 2-4
servings a day. But in
reality, it can be quite a challenge to reach this goal on a daily
basis because of the lack of variety and limited availability
of vegetables in the current diet of western cultures. Just
think about traditional choices for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and
snacks and it’s easy to see why we don’t eat enough vegetables.
What do people usually eat for breakfast? Toast, cereal, milk, eggs,
yogurt, pastries, fruit or juice, bagels or other breads. Not much
room for a vegetable here! How about lunch? Typical choices include
meat sandwiches, burgers, various soups, and sometimes salads (usually
just iceberg lettuce) with few other vegetables included. Now, think
about the snack aisles in the supermarket, what are the options?
Chips, crackers, cookies, pretzels, doughnuts. Not a vegetable in
sight! Last, there’s dinner. Now here’s where the nutritionally
conscious make up for lost time and have a vegetable as part of a
balanced diet. But it doesn’t really make up for the rest of the
day.
Changing the Pattern
First, pay attention to the
frequency and type of vegetables you eat over a week’s time. Even if
you are not keeping a food diary of everything you eat, just keeping a
tally of the number of times and types of vegetables you choose will
give you a wealth of information about the quality of your diet. When
you start keeping track, you may be surprised at how infrequently the
goal of 2-4 vegetables per day is actually met. The other thing you
are likely to notice is that you probably eat the same 4-5 vegetables
and don’t vary the type much at all. This is very typical, but the
result of this routine is that you may be missing some important
vitamins and minerals that are present in specific vegetables that
you’re not eating. Here are some ideas on how to change this pattern
to “rev” up your diet with vegetables.
1.
Vegetables are not typical fare for breakfast, still there are
ways to include them. One way is to make a low fat omelet using egg
substitute or egg whites with only one egg yolk and add sautéed vegetables for filling. How about sliced tomatoes and low fat cottage
cheese for breakfast, or tomato juice? Although soup is not a routine
breakfast choice, there is no reason why one couldn’t have vegetable
soup for breakfast!
2.
At lunch, make or order a sandwich with extra vegetables as
filling. Important note: be careful about ordering a “veggie”
sandwich in a restaurant. It is typically made with cream cheese,
avocado, and other types of whole milk cheese, so it is a very high
fat meal choice. Instead, you might choose a turkey sandwich (if you
eat meat) or ask
for extra vegetables and less turkey, or request that nonfat or low
fat cheeses be used in the veggie sandwich.
3.
In many cases, a clear broth vegetable soup is a lower calorie,
more nutritious choice than a lettuce salad. This is because most
dinner salads are made exclusively with iceberg lettuce, not dark
green leaf lettuces, and the salad is laden with high fat dressings.
Of course, choose lower fat dressings, but also review your salad
choices for creative ways to add more vegetables – some shaved
carrot, radishes, raw broccoli or cucumber can boost the nutritional
value of a salad.
4.
For snacks, raw vegetables make an excellent, simple choice.
But carrots and celery sticks are not the only choice out there. Try
some sliced sweet peppers, or blanch some broccoli and cauliflower to
munch on with low fat dips.
5.
At dinner, there is more to life than corn, peas, potatoes, and
green beans! Try one new vegetable each week. How about sweet
potatoes, yams, or squash instead of potatoes? Try other types of
salads – spinach, three bean salad, salads with dark leafy greens
instead of iceberg lettuce.
6.
Broccoli may be the Superman of vegetables. If you add this one
vegetable to your diet as a routine habit – you will be getting a
great source of Vitamin C, A, calcium, potassium, iron, and folic
acid.
One of the weekly
messages went over the diet recommendations people involved in the
Lyon Heart Study followed, which resulted in a major reduction in risk
of heart attack. Two of these simple diet changes were to eat more
root vegetables (yams, sweet potatoes, potatoes) and to eat more dark
green leafy vegetables. Look at the table below (which is a portion of
the Lyon Heat Study food frequency questionnaire) and rate your diet
on your intake of these vegetables. Make a new goal to include these
vegetables at least once a week, but ultimately, more than once a
week.
Check to see how often you eat your
vegetables?
|
Vegetable |
More than once a week |
Once a week |
1-3 times a month |
Rarely or never |
|
Tomatoes
|
|
|
|
|
|
Broccoli
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spinach
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mustard, turnip or
collard greens
|
|
|
|
|
|
Carrots or mixed vegetables
with carrots
|
|
|
|
|
|
Green Salad
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sweet potatoes or yams |
|
|
|
|
|
Other potatoes |
|
|
|
|
Why are these
particular vegetables important?
Tomatoes, carrots, and dark orange
vegetables are good sources of carotenoids, which trap free radicals.
Free radicals are damaging to the cells of the body and are associated
with the development of cancer and involved in the process of
atherosclerosis.
Tomatoes, starchy root vegetables
such as carrots, yams, sweet potatoes, and potatoes, and dark green
leafy vegetables like mustard greens, spinach, and dark leaf lettuces
are good sources of potassium, which plays an important role in
managing the body’s blood pressure, and in conducting nerve impulses
throughout the body.
Dark green leafy vegetables are rich
sources of folic acid, a B-vitamin which plays an important role in
regulating homocysteine, an amino acid that at high levels is
associated heart disease. Folic acid is critical to the healthy
metabolism of cells and production of protein.
And if that’s not enough…….
Vegetables are nutrient dense and
low calorie – an excellent choice for those wanting to lose body
fat. They add color, texture, and flavor to the diet, and because of
their high fiber and water content, make excellent fillers for a
hungry stomach.
