Over the last few years vegetables have been in the firing line somewhat, which many of the diets gaining popularity (or notoriety) downplaying their importance. In some cases, there are diets that are suggesting their removal completely.
So what’s the score? How important are vegetables? Do they retain their spot as the basis on which all healthy eating should be based? In this article we’re going to take a look at some of the research and conclude by answering whether or not vegetables are important, and whether or not you should be making room for them in your diet…
Vegetables - why the halo may have slipped…
The spotlight on vegetables shifted when the Atkins diet came into popularity. It was the first of the low carb approaches to really gain traction in the mass media, and it was famous for allowing people to consume fried foods, as long as they were high in protein such as eggs, bacon and sausages.
Not only that, but the Atkins diet actually promoted the reduction of vegetable consumption, because some of them were too high in carbs! It was a dream diet to many… and it appeared to work!
Fast forward a few years and the Paleo diet become more mainstream. On the Paleo diet people were encouraged to return to a diet that a Paleolithic man would recognise - meat, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, berries and greens. No processed foods, limited fruit and little/no starches.
Whilst the Paleo diet doesn’t ban vegetables, it certainly restricts the consumption of a lot of them.
By the 2010’s, the Ketogenic diet gained traction. This is a diet where around 80% of your calories come from fat, and the remaining 20% come from protein. This really is a diet whereby vegetables are off limits - with some VERY low sugar exceptions (broccoli, rocket, spinach etc). Vegetables were once again being questioned.
Although the ketogenic diet didn’t quite reach the popularity of the others, it remains a significant nutritional approach to this day and is used by some high profile people in the industry.
Last but not least, we’ll look at the Carnivore diet. This is exactly what it says - nothing but meat. No vegetables, no fruit, just flesh. It’s like a ketogenic diet, but restricted to meat and is higher in protein and less reliant on fat for calories.
Why eat vegetables, when they’re my food’s food? Is a common line in the community.
Why do we eat vegetables?
Before we nail our colours to the mast either way, let’s take a look at why we eat vegetables in the first place. If it’s a food group we can potentially do without, why do we hold them in such high esteem? Let’s take a look at three of the main reasons we think vegetables are important…
They’re high in fibre
I’ve gone with this point first because it’s (in my opinion) the most important point about them. You can get vitamins and minerals from other sources, but fibre is much more difficult to come by. The evidence from the research is crystal clear - a diet high in fibre (vegetables) improves appetite regulation, gut flora (bacteria) and can help to reduce inflammation.
They add variety to your diet
A boring diet is going to be very difficult to stick to, so vegetables provide an opportunity to consume a huge variety of foods on a daily basis. With vegetables available all year round, with a multitude of colours, flavours, textures and nutrient profiles, they offer dietary options that take us far beyond what we’d experience without them.
They’re incredibly nutrient dense
There’s no getting away from the nutrient density argument. In terms of ‘bang for your buck’, vegetables offer a huge depth of vitamin and minerals. Not only that. but when they’re fresh, these vitamins and minerals are of the highest quality - better than anything you’d be able to supplement with. Plant foods are also high in phytonutrients and antioxidants.
So why do some diets neglect vegetables?
There’s a number of reasons diets will neglect vegetables. In the case of the Ketogenic diet, it’s because some vegetables such as onions, carrots, parsnips, squashes etc are particularly high in carbohydrates and that will knock you out of ketosis, which is detrimental to the ketogenic diet approach.
In the Paleo diet, the argument is that many vegetables are actually a source of allergens and they can promote an inflammatory response in the diet, which will impact overall health. By removing these, Paleo follows argue the diet is actually healthier.
The other argument is that they’re just unnecessary. Some people believe that the vitamins and minerals we obtain from vegetables are easy to obtain from other foods, so why bother eating them if you don’t like/want/need to.
There’s no getting away from the fact that there are a lot of people who live perfectly healthy lives without touching a vegetable. I suppose the question is, just because you can, should you?
How important are vegetables? The AdMac Fitness take…
From our point of view, vegetables remain an important part of the diet, for the reasons mentioned above. Sure, you might be able to live perfectly well without them, but the fibre, the phytonutrients and the vitamin and mineral density means that they just have to feature for us.
Additionally, variety is the spice of life and by adding vegetables into your diet, you open up so many different culinary options, and we just can’t ignore that. With a multitude of ways to prep and cook them, you’ll never run out of possibilities.
For us, vegetables to remain fundamental to a great diet. We’d even encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and try a few new ones! Maybe explore pickled and fermented vegetables too, which are other great ways to eat them!
If you want your health and fitness journey to be guided by the best personal training team in East London, get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness. We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!