Plants are the gift of nature as provides food to all living beings. All parts of plants i.e. Roots, leafs, stem, flower and fruits are consumed by everyone in the form of cereals, fruits, spices and vegetables. Vegetables are essentially requires for everyone, pivotal component for humans life as they contains nutrients like vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, minerals and water which protects us from diseases and provide energy for doing all activities.
Thus, vegetables are categorize as blend of nutritional value and medicinal value. Plants plays an important role in both nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals.
Every part of plant is very nutritional and good for health such as
Roots- beetroot, carrot, turnip, radish, sweet potato.
Underground stems- potato, onion, garlic.
Fruits-tomato, eggplant, cucumber, ladyfinger, pumpkin, apple mango, orange, guava….
Seeds- rice, wheat, barley, maize
Leafs- spinach, mustard, cabbage, cauliflower.
Pulses- pea, soyabean, green gram, chickpea, black gram and so on… A nutritional contents consumed by human beings. Balance diet is a familiar term known by everyone.
When we talk about appetite everyone prefers for Balance diet but there is an another term is Vegetarianism or Green diet excluding all meats and eggs- a path to stay healthy and fit.
Vegetables are good containers of nutrients as different vegetables contains different forms of nutrition such as proteins, vitamins and minerals, carbohydrates. Broccoli is a perfect example of those vegetables which is high in nutritional value with taste. This article is here to share nutritional value of vegetables which we commonly used.
Vegetables are rich source of vitamins and minerals like Vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B1, vitamin B9, calcium and iron. Regular intake of right nutritional vegetables is good for health. Some vegetables which are good source of vitamins and minerals are listed below as–
Vegetables High in Vitamin A: Carrots, Tomato
Sweet Potatoes, Spinach
Red Pepper, Mustard Greens
Vegetables High in Vitamin B1: Asparagus, Brussels Sprouts
Butternut Squash, Corn
French Beans, Lima Beans
Okra, Peas, Potatoes
Vegetables High in Vitamin B9: Amaranth Leaves, Broccoli
Beetroot, French beans
Lima beans, Potatoes, Spinach, Squash(winters), Peas.
Vegetables High in Vitamin C: Butternut Squash, Broccoli
Bok Choy, Brussels Sprouts
Green Pepper, Swiss Chard
Kale, Cauliflower, Peas.
Vegetables High in Iron: Spinach, Beetroot, Soyabean
Sweet Potatoes, Turnip, Kale
Vegetables High in Calcium: Okra, Garlic, Avocado
Cabbage, Turnip, Kale
Artichoke, Rapini, Arugula, Avocado.
Listed above are some vegetables which are good sources of vitamins and minerals. As vitamins and minerals helps to stimulates immunity and needed for formation of some hormones in human body. Consuming these vitamins source vegetables are beneficial for immune system. Now, lets discuss about nutritional value of some other kinds of vegetables such as starchy vegetables, leaf vegetables, legumes, fibrous vegetables etc..
As the name suggest these vegetables are good source of carbohydrates. Starch is a complex carbohydrate found chiefly in seeds, wheat, potatoes, rice. Carbohydrate is a rich nutrient provides energy to body. Vegetables includes in this category are turnips, carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, peas, beans, yellow turnips(rutabaga) and swedes.
Starchy vegetables, most of them have glycemic index from medium to high which is generally higher than fibrous or leafy vegetables. Such as carrots, is one of the starchy vegetable which is also rich in source of fiber and contains average amount of potassium,
vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K. They are equally nutritional as compare to other vegetables.
Starchy vegetables provides us many benefits as they are good source which provides energy and also helps to fight from diseases. Beet root contains high anthocyanin content which a phytochemical which makes the red coloring of beet root. This phytochemical is an anti-oxidants which is powerful enough to fight cancer and inflammatory diseases.
Spinach, mustard greens, turnip greens, cabbage, amaranth leaves etc are leafy vegetables which are rich in nutritions like proteins, minerals such as iron and calcium and fiber which prevents from anemia and stimulates the metabolism of human body. These vegetables also contains some phytochemical like vitamin C, vitamin K, carotenoid, folic acid.
Leafy vegetables are rich in iron content as Spinach is the primary source in vegetables to reduce iron deficiency which causes anemia. Cabbage is also a good source of Proteins as it helps in growth and development of body and helps in muscle building. It also contains fiber which helps to remove the toxins from body. Nutrients and phytochemical which are present in leafy vegetables helps to prevent from diseases and protects the cells of the body from external damage. Nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin K helps vision and promotes bone growth and teeth development whereas vitamin K helps in keeping the bones healthy, regulates calcium level in body and plays an important role in blood clotting.
Another important point to share is, if you are in weight loss task then prefer leafy vegetables as they contain low fat which helps to reduce weight.
Peas, beans such as black beans, kidney beans, navy beans, black eye peas are fruits of the legumes plants. Legumes plants have all valuable nutrients that are important for the growth of the body. Nutrients like proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals such as iron, calcium, potassium are present in legumes and also have high content fiber.
Those who are pure vegetarians known as vegans then beans are the appropriate choice for them.
Beans and peas are rich in proteins and vitamins like vitamin A and vitamin B1. Proteins in beans and peas are equivalent to the protein content in meat. Vitamin A and vitamin B1 are producers of energy and also essential for the functioning of heart, nervous system and muscles.
Fibrous vegetables like beetroot, spinach, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, turnip, brocoli etc are excellent sources of fiber. These are those vegetables which are rich in fiber as name also suggests this. Fiber is an essential nutrient as it provides energy to our body, removes toxins and also best for immune system. Spinach, eggplant, fennel, beans and lettuce contains high amount of fiber. Celery is a herb which can be eaten raw is a low calorie source of carbohydrates and fiber, also rich in water content. It also helps in preventing from diseases like cancer and helps in lowering the cholesterol, reduces blood pressure.
Other fiber vegetables like potatoes and sweet potatoes are also rich in fiber and carbohydrates. They are good containers of energy which provides energy and helps in increasing the stamina.
There are numerous vegetables which helps in growth and development of our body. Not only meat and chicken or eggs can helps in development of body but vegetables and fruits do the same. If you are trying to loose weight then you should consume starchy vegetables in moderate amount and should add more leafy and fibrous vegetables in your diet. Altogether one key point to remember that you must include these nutritional containers in your diet to stay a healthy life.