Delving a little deeper - The Veggies

I'd like to look a little deeper at the base of the Corrected Healthy Eating Pyramid: vegetables. Vegetables are important sources of vitamins, minerals, and water in your diet -- as well as fiber, if you're eating enough flour and sugar that you need fiber to maintain what the commercials call "regularity". But just eating vegetables according to a numerical count of 'servings' isn't enough.

Vegetables come in a wide variety. There are green, red, yellow, white, purple, and brown vegetables; there are hard, soft, wet, dry, crunchy, mushy, sweet, and sour vegetables. I feel like Dr. Seuss. Regardless, the Healthy Eating Pyramid is not just about eating them -- it's about eating the variety of them.

Every veggie has different minerals, vitamins, cofactors, and essential acids. The vegetable's color tells you a lot about it. For example, orange vegetables like carrots and some peppers are high in betacarotene, whch your body transforms into Vitamin A. Eating a wide variety of colors of vegetable helps your body get all of the nutrients it needs.

Vegetables also have a lot of water -- and most Americans don't get enough, even if they try hard to drink. It's because a lot of the fluids we consume -- like soda -- have such a high concentration of other stuff (high fructose corn syrup) that their water content isn't nearly what you'd think it would be by looking at it. It's important to get plenty of water from your food as well as your drinks, and vegetables are a great way to do that.

It's also almost impossible to eat too many veggies -- as long as you're washing them (or buying organic), they don't contain more than trace amounts of chemicals or additives that would adversly affect your health, and they do great things for your body.

It is very important to note, however, that not all plants fall into the "fruit" or "veggie" categories. Potatoes, corn, peas, and all grains fall into the "starch" category, which it IS important to watch your consumption of. Too many carbohydrates leads to all kinds of problems, from addiction and fatigue to cancer and diabetes.

So, eat your vegetables - eat lots of them, and eat a wide variety. The Healthy Eating Pyramid's base is really hard to get too much of, so enjoy!