I am a big meat eater! I always have been. Let’s just say I love meat! Even though I am a huge meat eater, I still understand the importance of balancing out nutrition to meet your nutritional goals. What I’m saying is even the biggest meat eaters cannot and should not survive on meat alone.

Luckily for us evolution has made it so our systems can eat and digest a variety of foods. This brings us to today’s topic, the wonderful world of vegetables. If you say you don’t eat vegetables then you should especially if you’re a big meat eater. Consuming veggies may have more benefits that you realize.

Veggie Basics-

Well I’m pretty dam sure everyone reading this knows what a vegetable is. Well just in case someone doesn’t know a vegetable is a edible plant or edible parts of a plant. Veggies come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. They provide us with nutrients and vitamins and minerals. Vegetables should be consumed by everyone no matter their variety of background, age, or ethnicity.  The USDA standard recommendation is 3-5 servings of vegetables daily. For most vegetables a serving works out to be a half of a cup a day so that works out to be between 1 ½ cups to 2 ½ cups daily.

I’m willing to bet a lot of people don’t get that much. Veggies are important to our nutrition because they provide us with tons of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other nutrients. The only things veggies tend not to provide us with are an abundance of protein and fats (thank goodness for meat).  Veggies are also quite versatile in the ways that they can be consumed. They can be eaten raw, steamed, boiled, microwaved, sautéed, fried, baked, and grilled. However you have your veggies make sure you coat them with a little oil to preserve the nutrients when cooking. It really doesn’t matter how you eat them as long as you do eat them.

All Day, Every Day-

Veggies are one of those things that should be consumed a lot and often. Since vegetables do such a great job at providing vitamins, minerals, and many vital nutrients, a person is only shortchanging themselves by not consuming at least the daily recommended amount. If you want to truly improve your health and nutritional goals it should be veggies All Day!!! Every Day!!!

What’s Your Function-

Besides coming in a variety of colors and shapes and providing our bodies with a wide range of vitamins, minerals, veggies can aid in a variety of functions for our bodies. Some of the benefits some veggies can provide are:

·         High Fiber

·         Anti- Estrogen Support

·         Fat Burning

·         Body Detoxification

High Fiber-

Fiber is the part of a plant that is indigestible by our digestive systems. Even though we cannot digest fiber it still is quite important to our systems. When passing through our intestines, fiber scrubs our intestinal walls helping aid in digestion. Fiber adds bulk to our stool keeping us “regular”. Fiber keeps our blood sugar stable lowering a risk of diabetes. Fiber has also been shown to aid in cholesterol lowering helping fight some types of heart diseases. Because fiber rich veggies are low calorie and keep you fuller for longer, they also make a great choice for dieters. The recommended amount is about 30 grams daily. Most people don’t even get a quarter of that daily. If you are a big protein eater you especially need extra fiber in your diet to aid with protein digestion. Good vegetable sources of fiber are:

Anti-Estrogens-

High amounts of estrogen can cause serious havoc on a body.  Too much estrogen can literally turn a man into a woman and make a woman a shell of herself. Many forms of cancers, especially breast cancer has a direct link with high amounts of estrogen in the body. Certain vegetables fall into a group called Cruciferous vegetables. Cruciferous veggies contain a substance called Indole-3-carbinol in fairly high amounts. Indole-3-carbinol has been shown to have a very high anti-estrogenic effect. This means it binds to some of the estrogen receptors in the body, blocking the formation and binding of some estrogens. This is good because not only does indole-3-carbinole have an anti-estrogenic effect but in some cases may result in some anti-cancerous effects also. Some cruciferous veggies are:

Fat Burning-

Okay so I’m sure like anyone else at one point you may have wanted to loose a little extra body fat. I bet you did not know that there are some veggies that may help aid you in that quest. In this category you can actually have a lot of choices. Cruciferous veggies are a big winner again in this category. They are very low calorie so you can eat a lot of them and have little impact on overall calorie consumption. They also provide a good amount of fiber so it will keep dieters fuller longer. Since estrogen levels have a direct relationship with overall body fat, these anti estrogenic veggies can help slash body fat that way.

Another group of veggies that may be important to a person’s fat loss efforts may be peppers.

Certain types of hot peppers contain an ingredient called capsaicin. Capsaicin is what gives peppers that spicy kick. After a few weeks of dieting some people’s metabolic rate tends to drop making fat loss a little harder. When capsaicin is ingested it speeds up the metabolism and heart rate, much like the way of some over the counter diet pills.  Research has found that capsaicin helps stimulate some proteins in fat cells. When these proteins are stimulated they break down the fat cells. Since capsaicin increases body heat, some people even begin to sweat right away after ingesting foods with capsaicin in them.  Some good pepper choices are:

·         Red Savina Peppers (one of the hottest peppers a person can eat)

·         Jalapenos

·         Cayenne

·         Habanero

Detoxifiers-

Everyday our bodies are not only exposed to internal stresses but also stresses from toxins and chemicals all around us. These stresses, toxins and chemicals over time slowly begin to break our bodies down. Some vegetables can provide support against everyday damage we may be exposed to. Two organs that bear the blunt of this damage are the liver and the kidneys. Since the liver and kidneys are the natural filters and cleaners of the body, it’s pretty important that they function optimally.

Let’s look at the liver first. The liver’s main functions are to purify the blood, produce bile (which aids in digestion) and store glycogen.  For the body to run optimally it need the nutrients from proper digestion. Bile from the liver is essential for fat digestion. Fats like omega 3’s are some of the most important fats a body can take in so proper liver function is key to their digestion. Vegetables like mustard greens, watercress, kale, and collard greens are all great at bile stimulation. The leafy greens are also abundant in chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is probably one of the best things to protect the body from toxins. The cruciferous veggie family makes an appearance once again in this category. They are great veggie sources of liver detoxifiers. Garlic also makes a great liver detoxifier. Garlic not only strengthens the liver but also helps purify blood, normally a big job for the liver.

The other organs that can take a major beating due to stresses and toxins are the kidneys. The kidneys go thru a lot of crap…literally. The main function of the kidneys is to detoxify the body of “crap” it can’t digest. Some of the functions of the kidneys are:

The kidneys are slightly different because they work better when dealing with liquids. This would be a time when it would be easier and more efficient to take your vegetables in a liquid form.  For kidney health and cleaning leafy greens, celery, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, beets, carrots, and cucumbers are your top choices. Here is a veggie juice recipe that works well as a kidney detox. You will need a high powered blender or juicer to properly juice your ingredients.

Veggie Detox Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 med. apple (cored and sliced)

1 med. orange (peeled)

½ cup of chopped up broccoli

½ cup of leafy greens (finely chopped)

2 celery stalks (chopped)

1 cup of chopped up beets

1 med carrot (peeled and chopped)

½ cup of ice

1 ½ cups of water

Directions:

If you are using a blender add ice and ¾ cup of water to the blender.

Next add the apple, orange, and broccoli

Blend for a minute

Next add the greens, celery, and carrot

Blend for another minute

Now add the beets and another ¾ cup of water

Blend for another minute and enjoy

If you’re a meat lover like me you will never turn into a vegetarian but that does not mean that vegetables should not have a major role in anyone’s diet. Vegetables should be eaten a lot and often. It doesn’t matter how you’re getting your vegetables just that you are getting them. Vegetables can play a major role in improving you’re overall health and wellness. This is one of those times when you should listen to your mother, and eat your vegetables.