ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

30 Reasons to Eat More Veggies

Updated on December 30, 2010

Eat More Vegetables and See Benefits to Your Sex Life, Benefits to Your Health, Reduce Risks of Disease, and Fatten Your Wallet

Your Mom always said to eat more veggies, but did you ever really know why? Vegetables and fruits are high in fiber, make you feel fuller, and even can save you money as opposed to a more meat-rich diet. You don't even have to exclude meat, just eat more veggies and fruits and you'll see some big changes all around. Included on this page are 30 reasons to eat more veggies and fruits, for your health, your sex life, and to reduce risks of cancer, stroke, heart disease, to reduce high blood pressure, and to clean up your food finances!

vegetables
vegetables

Reasons Why You Should Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

30 health benefits, environmental benefits and overall good things about eating more fruits and veggies

You've heard a lot about vegans and vegetarians, but the truth of the matter is that you don't have to be meat-free to be healthier. Simply by including more fruits and vegetables in your life, your body will be healthier, the environment will benefit from it, and everyone around you will benefit from your increase in plant consumption. Need a few reasons that you should eat more veggies and fruits? Well, how about 30? Here are 30 reasons that you should eat more vegetables (and fruits).

Below, you can find ways to incorporate more fruits and veggies into your diet without a big shock to your lifestyle.

1. Eating more vegetables costs less than eating more meat and carbohydrates. Yes, produce is expensive, but frozen fruit and veggies are not.

2. When you buy during a vegetable's peak time, you're paying far less than meat per pound. Buying at peak time usually coincides with when the vegetable/fruit is most nutrient dense as well.

3. A plate filled with vegetables in addition to meat is more attractive. Yes, it's vain and aesthetic, but a variety of colors on your plate is also a good indication that you are getting a variety of vitamins and minerals into your diet.

4. Eat more carrots for better eyesight. It's true! Scientists have proven that eating carrots prevents cataracts and overall improves vision.

5. Fruits might be sweet, but a diet rich in vegetables and fruit slow the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream, lowering the risk of diabetes.

6. The high fiber content in vegetables and fruit are natural ways to reduce cravings. Fiber makes you feel full, and in it curbs sweet tooth cravings. The same goes for veggies, which really make you feel more full and satisfied than carbohydrates and sugar.

7. A diet high in antioxidant rich foods like fruits and vegetables have been shown to help prevent cancer.

8. Potassium rich vegetables like sweet potatoes have been shown to prevent kidney stones, a great reason to cook one up with your dinner.

9. Fruits and vegetables are naturally low in calories. It's practically impossible to get fat on fruits and vegetables alone, so adding as much of them as possible will result in weight loss if you have weight to lose.

10. Fruits and vegetables are essential to proper fetal development, especially ones rich in folates. Folate rich fruits and veggies include spinach, lettuce, asparagus, peas, banana, grapefruit, and strawberry. According to mypyramid.gov, it "reduces the risk of neural tube defects, spina bifida, and anencephaly."

11. One of the best ways to prevent heart disease is to eat more fruits and vegetables. The fiber, antoxidants, and phytochemicals found in types of beta carotene reduce cholesterol levels, and prevent fatty substances from sticking to blood vessel walls.

12. For the same reasons, fruits and veggies help reduce the risk of stroke.

13. Green, leafy vegetables and some types of fruits can lower blood pressure.

14. It sounds like an old wives tale that Vitamin C helps prevent a cold, but there could be some truth to the notion that some foods boost your immune system.

15. Overall, working around meat is a far more dangerous job than farming vegetables. Eating more vegetables than meat will lessen the need for these jobs, shift them to vegetable farming jobs, and keep more people safe (not to mention healthy).

16. Prostate health is essential as you age, with prostate problems being very common as age increases. Eat more of these types of fruits and vegetables to promote prostate health and help curtail prostate cancer.

17. Increasing the amount of vegetables in your diet and lessening the meat can save you money, if you're mindful of what you're buying. Lentils and beans are the cheapest proteins available, much cheaper than meat and soy, and very good for you. So basically, veggies are cheaper than meat.

18. People watch what you eat. When you eat healthier, you will influence those around you, making their lives healthier as well.

19. Vitamin E rich foods like almonds, avocado, dark greens, and tomatoes protect essential fatty acids from cell oxidation, which is essentially a form of aging.

20. When you get older, you'll need more fiber to combat diverticulosis. Eating fruits and vegetables high in fiber can help prevent diverticulosis, along with plenty of water.

21. Iron, folates, and beta carotene all can be found in winter root vegetables, which are a great source of energy and are delicious in soups. Beet juice has been found to increase stamina during exercise, so you can get more out of your workouts.

22. If it comes from a tree, how bad can it be? Replacing your cooking oils with olive oil can have a giant benefit to your health. Olive oil raises HDL cholesterol (the good), while keeping LDL cholesterol in check, as opposed to animal fats which do the opposite.

23. Going organic can have many benefits, but simply eating more vegetables can help the environment, too.

24. There aren't any meats that help burn fat, but there is a list of fruits and vegetables that burn fat. You can't get much easier than that.

25. Peppers, apples, pears, and broccoli are some of the fruits and veggies that help boost metabolism on this list.

26. Sunflower seeds, almonds, cashews, flax seed and even onions and garlic contain L-Arginine, a naturally occurring amino acid. These vegetables and nuts help increase sex drive naturally.

27. In a way, even by eating more fruits and vegetables, you are supporting animal causes. You don't have to eliminate meat from your diet to be a proponent of cruelty free meat and ethical animal treatment. By eating less meat, you're lessening the chance of animal abuse, and lessening the need for meat.

28. Growing your own vegetables can help your wallet and the environment. Fresh is always best, and it just so happens that it could be cheaper if you grow it (and a rewarding experience).

29. Folate is a known mood enhancer and serotonin producer. Folate is found heavily in many fruits, and even the smell of citrus fruits can enhance mood (perfect if you need a boost).

30. Eat fruit for brain health, maybe even while reading this page. Consuming fruits has been shown to substantially reduce the risk of Alzheimer's.

Adding More Vegetables Into Your Diet - Vegetables Every Day; The Definite Guide to Buying and Cooking Today's Produce with Over 350 Recipes

Twinkies, Ding Dongs, bagels, pasta, rice, soda... it's easy to eat more of that type of food, but not so easy to add more fruit and vegetables to your diet, unless you really know how to prepare them and buy them. With over 350 vegetable based recipes, this book will offer you up some great ways to increase the amount of fruits and veggies in your diet and start seeing some health benefits.

Vegetables Every Day: The Definitive Guide to Buying and Cooking Today's Produce With More Than 350 Recipes
Vegetables Every Day: The Definitive Guide to Buying and Cooking Today's Produce With More Than 350 Recipes
* Over 34 five star reviews * A great way to get healthier * 350 go-to recipes (that's one new recipe a night for almost a year!) * Instructions on grilling, brasing and other cooking methods, as well as veggie preparation
 

You don't have to be a full blown vegetarian to make a difference in your health. Simply increasing the amount of fruits and veggies can help slim your waistline and reduce risks of many diseases.

Products to Help You Eat More Fruits and Veggies - Try these and you'll have an easier time eating vegetables and fruit!

Having the right utensils and storage on hand can increase your chances of having more fruit. Make it easy for you to grab fruit and veggies by having them conveniently at an arm's length.

Prepworks by Progressive Wire Fruit Bowl - Chrome
Prepworks by Progressive Wire Fruit Bowl - Chrome
This banana tree and fruit bowl combination is the perfect way to ripen and keep fruit fresh.
 
Progressive International 3 Piece Fruit Scoops Set
Progressive International 3 Piece Fruit Scoops Set
Easily scoop fruit from the skin without wasting loads of fruit and fiddling around with the hard to peel skin.
 
Rösle Stainless Steel 10 Blade Serrated Vegetable, Fruit and Cheese Slicer, One Size, Silver
Rösle Stainless Steel 10 Blade Serrated Vegetable, Fruit and Cheese Slicer, One Size, Silver
Enjoy fresh tomatoes and mozzarella without the hassle of cutting it up. Just push down and have perfect, delicious slices!
 
Victorinox Swiss Army 5.2063.20-X4 Fibrox Straight Chef's Knife Black 8 in
Victorinox Swiss Army 5.2063.20-X4 Fibrox Straight Chef's Knife Black 8 in
Cut veggies and fruits fast, instead of using one of those wimpy knives that take all day. Especially helpful with big heads of lettuce, celery and more.
 
OXO Good Grips Pro Y-Peeler
OXO Good Grips Pro Y-Peeler
Easy to use, with blades that stay sharper longer. Non-slip and dishwasher safe.
 

Tell your own vegetarian story

It's open to everyone, easy and free to do.

WHY VEG? is a collection of personal stories and manifestos (and favorite recipes!) from vegetarians.

Whether you are vegan, vegetarian, or eat meat-free occasionally, this group welcomes you to share your story about vegetarianism. In the spirit of healthy bodies and a healthy planet, tell us about your transformation and why you did it. We're also open to yummy recipes, restaurants and any tips you've got on living a vegetarian lifestyle. You could make a page about 'Why I Gave Up Bacon (and lots more)' or 'Why My Girlfriend Convinced Me To Go Vegetarian' or 'Vegetarian Sloppy Joes' -- just a few examples. It's free, of course.

Follow TheGreenerMe on Twitter to stay up to date with the Green Tip of the Day!

Also, you can sign up for my online newsletter here to stay in touch with TheGreenerMe, stay updated on sales notifications, and receive green tips in every newsletter!

Have you upped your veggie intake and noticed a big difference? Eaten a certain fruit and seen some health benefits? Tell us how fruits and veggies have helped you, and maybe it will inspire someone else to eat more of them too!

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)