5 Reasons To Eat More Vegetables

Vegetables provide a range of benefits for the whole body.

Here are the top five reasons to put more veggies on your plate:

1) To boost your immune system

Detox and alkalise your gut with organic veggie juices. This is important as the majority of your immune receptors are in your stomach and they need a healthy environment to work properly. Try celery, lemon, carrots, beetroot and spinach.

2) To look after your eyesight

Studies have found diets high in antioxidants, lutein and zeaxanthin may lower the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration – a leading cause of blindness in Australia, currently affecting one in seven people over the age of 50. Rich sources of lutein and zeaxanthin are found in dark leafy greens such as spinach, broccoli, green beans, silverbeet and brussels sprouts.

3) To boost your sex appeal

Scientists at the University of St Andrews in Scotland have found that eating plenty of fruit and vegetables is the best way to get a healthy, golden glow. And it also makes you more attractive to the opposite sex.

4) For golden, glowing skin

The team assessed the skin colour of people in relation to their diet and discovered those who ate more fruit and vegetables had a more golden skin colour. They then measured the way light is absorbed by the skin, finding that those with a healthy glow had a higher presence of carotenoids (yellow and red antioxidants). Carotenoids are commonly found in fruit and vegetables including spinach, apricots, yellow and red peppers and melons.

5) To reduce your diabetes risk

Increasing the amount of green, leafy vegetables in your diet may slash your chance of developing type 2 diabetes by 14 percent, a UK study has found. Researchers at the University of Leicester discovered that people who ate the highest number of servings of greens daily – 1.35 – had a decreased risk of the disease, compared with those who ate the smallest amount – about 0.2 servings daily.
Experts say that more research is needed as the analysis doesn’t take into account the consumption of other fruits and vegetables. Another UK study has found that consuming other vegetables, including garlic, asparagus and Jerusalem artichokes, can help to prevent type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Sourced from Body+Soul.