We all know that vegetables are good for us, but we don’t always understand 1) how they are good for us and 2) the ways they affect our body.
Here are some of the reasons why veggies do our bodies so much good:
Vegetables contain
- minerals,
- trace minerals,
- B vitamins,
- calcium,
- magnesium,
- iron,
- fiber
- and more.
Additionally, vegetables have unique healing properties that have profound effects upon specific illnesses. For example, dark leafy greens such as kale and spinach help to cleanse the body of impurities. Root vegetables such as beets and turnips aid digestion and the assimilation of minerals.
Early scientists observed that fruits and vegetables had healing effects upon diseases such as scurvy, or beri-beri. Does it not make sense that we will continue to discover new and important ways that vegetables can improve our health?
As science continues to explore the effects of food and nutritive substances on our bodies, we realize that there are tiny, previously unobserved (or discounted as meaningless) ways in which these marvelous plants, with their amazing properties and systems, can bless our bodies.
Getting the Most Value for Your Vegetable Dollar
When looking for the kinds of vegetables that provide you with the best value for your food dollar, be aware that:
- Fresh is best (locally grown and organic are ideal). Even more delightful is your selected choices of veggies you have grown for yourself. Our children relished the fresh vegetables that they helped to raise. We never had a problem with them liking a vegetable that they had planted, watered, and harvested themselves.
- Frozen vegetables are next in nutritive value, because freezing maintains much of the nutrition of fresh.
- Third highest priority is canned vegetables. Best of these are when you yourself have harvested and processed the products. Then you know exactly what is in the contents of the can or bottle.
Eating Your Marvelous Produce
When plating your food, half of the plate should be filled with vegetables. This serves many purposes. One major one is that your body knows what to do with vegetable food. It needs the fiber; it needs the micronutrients, and it needs the other vitamins and minerals that are within the plant. You can also benefit by consuming lots of vegetables that fill you up and leave less room for the damaging effects of high sugar desserts or excessive meats and gravies.
Why a Topic Like Vegetables?
So why talk about vegetables, you might ask? As an M.D., I have discovered that many of my patients suffer needlessly, simply because they fail to eat the foods that nourish and strengthen the body. We eat, not to fuel our body, but to satisfy our cravings.
Eating vegetables does not really take extra time. It takes a bit more planning. You will want to utilize the food you grow or purchase soon after harvest, to maximize the flavor and nutrition.
You’ll notice that you will feel better just by implementing this small change in your eating habits.
My practice as a medical doctor is designed to help people regain their energy through healthy alternatives to drugs and surgery. If you would like more information, please visit my website, www.stangardnermd.com. If you have questions or would like to schedule an appointment, you can call my office, Keys to Healing Medical Center, at 801-302-5397 (KEYS).