We all know that we should eat at least 5 fruits and vegetables per day, but did you know that the majority should be vegetables and not fruits. Why? Here’s your top 3 reasons.
1.The sugar issue
Graph made by PhD Nutritionist Alice Callahan
For starters vegetables tend to be much lower in sugar than fruit and this is always a bonus. Less sugar means more balanced hormones and insulin levels (which in turn helps to control hunger and cravings) and also less likelihood of carbs being stored as fat. In fact, in a previous post I had mentioned the burden sugar places on our liver and how excess sugar is stored as fat. So it is important to be aware of all forms of sugar, even those from natural sources.
2.More valuable to your health
Secondly, it has been scientifically proven that vegetables have a more beneficial impact on health than fruit. One study found that “each daily portion of fresh vegetables reduced the overall risk of death by 16% percent” compared to just 4% for fresh fruit and zero for fruit juices.
3.Vegetables vs fruits – the battle of nutrients
This perhaps is due to the fact that vegetables also tend to be slightly higher in nutrients than fruit. For example, vegetables are much higher in iron, folate, vitamin A and calcium content.
All graphs made by PhD Nutritionist Alice Callahan
What I usually do is have 2 servings of cooked vegetables at lunch and another 3 raw servings (i.e. salad) at dinner. I tend to have 1 or 2 pieces of fruit early in the day and/or after a workout. This brings me to about 7 daily servings of vegetables and fruits which according to this study is the optimum number as anything higher than that did not show any further increase to health benefits.
So now you know why that nursery rhyme went like: “Vegetables, vegetables. You’ve got to eat your vegetables!” 🙂
Inspired by Miranda 
Veggies may indeed be better than fruits. But fruits are better than everything else. Yes, eat veggies. But don’t feel bad about adding fruit (with its flavor, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants) to your diet, too :). Signed, Fruit Lover xo
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Yes definitely fruits are better than commercial sweets! Still need to be aware of our daily sugar consumption (especially hidden sugars) and we shouldn’t forget that fruits and juices are sugars too!
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Oh. Yes. I never drink my sugar. Sugar is a no-no for me, in general. So fruit juices are out. If I avoid added sugar and liquid sugar, I’m usually good to go.
But I hate to see people scared off whole fruits. Watermelon for instance has a low glycemic load in spite of a high natural sugar content. It’s also loaded with vitamins and minerals and antioxidants. So I never feel bad about eating watermelon.
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I agree on this one – like you said there are high and low sugar fruits + if we control all other sugars fruits shouldn’t be a problem. However, I can’t help but encourage people to eat more veggies as they often get overlooked – fruits will always be more tempting then vegetables!
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This is so true! Always telling everyone I know about this but it’s hard for them to understand they need to watch portion sizes with fruits. Only with berries it is different- they have such high fiber content and low sugar that I’d rather eat a cup of that than a banana … xoxo
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Dear Miranda, I just wrote a post about carbs, would you mind if I added a link to this post? I talk about vegetables and fruits too and your post would be a perfect addition to that! 🙂
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Hi Deniza, No problem at all. I really enjoyed reading your post as well 🙂
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Thank you dear :*
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I wish you had a Pinterest button (though I haven’t figured out how to add it to my blog either). Pinterest is where I post health stuff. I try not to mix too many themes or subjects in my different social sites.
Miranda, since you know a lot about vitamins and minerals, maybe you can clear up a few questions that have been driving me batty for a while.
First, one site will say not to takes separate B vitamins, yet another will say to take the ones you know are lacking. I just finished off a bottle of B Complex so I am going to take B3 (niacin) and B12 (?) with our the other Bs for a while. Is it ok to do that?
My other question is about Magnesium. I know I am lacking it, yet everything that includes multiple vitamins only puts a small amount of magnesium in them. Is it ok to take extra? (I understand it helps increase your metabolism which I really need.) Do I need to get potassium in equal amounts?
Finally, is it really possible to get all our vitamins, minerals & scant minerals in our food? Even if we are eating only fruits and veggies (or veggies & fruit, if you prefer that order)?
My understanding is that with the depletion of soil caused by growing crops over and over on the same land, that it is no longer possible to get many of these needed nutrients from just our food. Do you agree or disagree?
Also, is it possible that different bodies have different needs EVEN IF they eat the same things?
Thank you for answering any of these that you can. And if you can’t answer them, guiding us to the best source.
Peace,
Sherrie
Sherrie Miranda’s historically based, coming of age, Adventure novel “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” is about an American girl in war-torn El Salvador: http://tinyurl.com/klxbt4y
Her husband made a video for her novel. He wrote the song too:
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Hi Sherrie. Firstly thank you for reading my post and your interest. I have been thinking about adding a Pin It button, need to figure out how to do it on WordPress (I used to use Blogger before and this typically involves plugging in an HTML code into the widget section). Will look in to it again this week and let you know 🙂
I must highlight that *I am NOT a qualified professional* so all my tips are from personal experience and knowledge.
B vitamins – these are water soluble so there is no real danger of overdosing. Therefore, you can safely take all the B vitamins together even if you only lack in 1 or 2. Also all the B vitamins work well together in synergy so you may benefit more from taking a ‘B complex’ supplement instead of just individual ones. On the other hand, if you are severely deficient in one B vitamin, your doctor will most likely prescribe a high dose of only that specific vitamin. In that case, supplementing with a mix of B complex vitamins may increase that dose even further so this must be discussed with a medical professional. Nonetheless, it may be good to try both ways (if you are not medically diagnosed as deficient) and see how your body responds.
Magnesium – yes most multi-vitamins will contain a low dose, however you can look for multi-mineral options or, as you suggested, supplement with magnesium-only tablets. Another option is to look for sports performance multi-vitamin and mineral supplements – these are design for athletes who require slightly higher doses than the average person. Again, magnesium is water soluble so overdosing is unlikely (although not impossible!) as the body excretes excess magnesium through sweat and urine.I am not very sure of the relationship between magnesium and potassium, however I do know that it’s important to maintain the proper balance between magnesium, calcium, vitamin K2, and vitamin D. Lack of balance between these nutrients is why calcium supplements have become associated with increased risk of heart attacks and stroke, and why some people experience vitamin D toxicity (from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/17/magnesium-benefits.aspx)
Natural foods – you know, I was thinking a lot about this lately too and you can read my post about this here: https://inspiredbymiranda.wordpress.com/2015/08/15/to-supp-or-not-to-supp/ There are a lot of factors which influence our absorption of nutrients – from the soil and quality of food all the way through how these are converted in our blood stream. In an ideal world we should be able to get all we need from food, however this may not always be the case. I would suggest cycling your supplements – for example taking vitamins for 3 months and then taking 1-3 months break and starting again.
Do let me know how you get on 🙂 All the best!
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At least I was able to share the video, but I would love to share the entire article on Pinterest.
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