We’ve all heard the government guidelines to ‘eat your 5-a-day’ but recent research has shown that the figure should be significantly higher. And that vegetables provide more health benefits than fruit.1
- Eating more vegetables reduces the risk of many diseases including cancer, heart disease and diabetes.1
- Vegetables are packed with fibre, which reduces stroke risk.2
- Vegetables are packed with health-giving plant compounds. Different coloured veg are rich in different compounds so eat a wide variety of colours.
- Red: contains lycopene which protects the skin from sun damage and may help protect against certain cancers
- Orange: is beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A for healthy skin
- Yellow: carotenoids – lutein and zeaxanthin – protect the eyes and help to reduce the risk of developing cataracts
- Green: chlorophyll reduces inflammation, aids detoxification and is an anti-oxidant
- Purple: indicates anthocyanins which are anti-ageing
- Vegetables contain high levels of anti-oxidants, which reduce inflammation.3
- Rich in minerals such as potassium, magnesium and calcium, all of which are essential to good health.
- Eating more veg can help you control your weight.4
- The fibre in veg helps you have a healthy bowel movement.
- The insoluble fibre in veg feeds your gut microbiome.
1. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0414/010413-fruit-veg-consumption-death-risk
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23073261
3. https://nutritionfacts.org/video/antioxidant-power-of-plant-foods-versus-animal-foods/
4. https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article-abstract/62/1/1/1913551