NY Times article Even Benefits Don’t Tempt Us to Vegetables

[Guest guest]

October 4, 2010

Even Benefits Don’t Tempt Us to Vegetables

By JANE E. BRODY

“Eat your vegetables.”

For many of us, that was a litany of childhood, an 11th commandment — often

followed by “or no dessert.” I even know a mother who tried reverse psychology

on her son — “You can’t have your vegetables until you’ve finished your meat”

(or chicken or fish) — though I can’t testify to its success.

As evidence of the health benefits of vegetables has accumulated, public health

scientists, nutritionists, federal health experts, growers and marketers,

teachers and physicians have been urging — and urging and urging — that

Americans eat more of them.

Producers have gone to great lengths to encourage vegetable consumption by a

public increasingly pressed for time and overly focused on fast food and

takeout. Farmers’ markets are springing up all over the country, with enticing

displays of locally grown produce. Supermarkets feature ready-to-eat and

ready-to-cook vegetables — spinach, salad greens, complete salads, broccoli

florets, peeled baby carrots. Simple, tasty recipes are often part of the

produce display. Even the major fast-food purveyors have made an effort,

introducing salads as side and main dishes; Mc’s now sells more salads

than any other eating establishment.

Yet last month came the discouraging word from the national Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention that Americans have fallen far short of the goals set a

decade ago to increase consumption of vegetables. In 2009, just 26 percent of

adults had three or more servings a day (including those who count a tomato

slice and a lettuce leaf on a burger as a vegetable serving). That was half the

percentage public health officials had hoped for.

And it falls even shorter if you look at the current recommendations: at least

four to five vegetable servings daily. Please note the definition of a serving:

half a cup of cut-up or cooked vegetables, one cup of fresh greens, half a cup

of cooked dried beans, or, if you must, six ounces of vegetable juice.

So what’s so good about vegetables anyway? First, vegetables are loaded with

vital nutrients: potassium, beta-carotene (the precursor of vitamin A),

magnesium, calcium, iron, folate (a B vitamin) and vitamins C, E and K, as well

as antioxidants and fiber. Despite an ill-conceived effort years ago to

“package” vegetables’ nutrients in a supplement, there is no good way to consume

them short of eating the foods that contain them.

And unless they are drowned in butter or a high-calorie sauce or dressing,

vegetables provide those nutrients at minimal caloric cost, an important

attribute in a society where obesity is ballooning out of control.

Curbing weight gain can reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes, now rampant in

America and an important cause of heart disease, kidney failure and premature

death.

Fiber, Potassium and More

Vegetables provide dietary bulk, filling the stomach and reducing the appetite

for higher-calorie foods. The fiber in vegetables helps reduce blood levels of

heart-damaging cholesterol and is a major antidote for constipation and

diverticulosis.

The potassium in tomato products, dried beans, sweet potatoes, spinach, Swiss

chard and winter squash can ease high blood pressure, a major risk factor for

heart disease and stroke, and may also reduce the risk of developing kidney

stones and bone loss.

Folate is a critical nutrient during pregnancy to prevent spinal cord defects;

it also helps the body form red blood cells. Vitamin E, an antioxidant, protects

against the deterioration of essential fatty acids and premature cell aging, and

vitamin C is important for healthy gums and teeth, healing of wounds and

absorption of iron. Vitamin K aids in blood clotting (note, however, that people

taking blood thinners must curb their intake of foods rich in this nutrient).

The vitamin A formed from beta-carotene is vital to the health of the eyes and

skin and may help prevent infections. A Harvard study of 73,000 nurses,

published in 2003 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, linked a

carotenoid-rich diet to a reduced risk of coronary artery disease, and a Swedish

study found that it cut the risk of stomach cancer in half.

Two other carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, can reduce the risks of macular

degeneration and cataracts, common causes of vision loss as people age. These

nutrients are found in dark green leafy vegetables, like spinach and kale, which

are packed with other valuable vitamins and minerals.

Lycopene, another carotenoid, may reduce the risk of prostate cancer and was

also linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease in women. Lycopene is

best obtained from processed tomato products. (Tomatoes, of course, are

technically fruits, as are squash and other “vegetables” with seeds. The foods

we usually think of as fruit have plenty of nutritional value but tend to have

more calories than vegetables — and may not supply all the same nutrients.)

Several other vegetables, not all of them popular among Americans, have also

been linked to protection against cancer. These are the so-called cruciferous

vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, collard greens and brussels

sprouts.

Then there are the allium vegetables, onions and garlic, that researchers in

Milan have linked to protection against cancers of the colon and rectum, ovary,

prostate, breast, kidney, esophagus, mouth and throat.

Last year The Nutrition Action Healthletter, published by the Center for Science

in the Public Interest, an advocacy group based in Washington, ranked vegetables

according to nutrient content. Kale led the list, followed by spinach, collard

greens, turnip greens, Swiss chard, canned pumpkin, mustard greens, sweet

potato, broccoli and carrots.

Others among the “superstars” listed were romaine lettuce, red bell pepper,

curly endive, brussels sprouts, butternut squash, green pepper, peas and bok

choy.

Except for sweet potato (100 calories in one medium potato) and peas (70

calories per half cup), none of these (when unadorned by fat) have more than 40

calories a serving, and most have only 20 or 30 calories.

Suggestions Welcome

Given that so many professionals have failed to raise the consumption of

vegetables among not-so-health-conscious Americans, how can we make a

difference? Fresh ideas are needed, and I invite readers to e-mail suggestions

to scitimes@... for possible inclusion in a future column. (Please

include the word “Brody” in the subject line.)

Who knows? One of you may succeed in keeping Americans healthier and curbing our

runaway health care costs.