Don’t forget the humble vegetable

With much focus on paleo and ketogenic diets lately, I think we may have lost some of the really, really simple, foundation elements in our diet. What am I talking about? Veggies of course!

I get the sense that we are focusing a little too much on what to cut out, but forgetting what to include! Can anyone else relate to this?

We are all gearing “Cut out gluten, reduce dairy, sugar is the devil, alcohol and caffeine in moderation”.

What about the humble veg. We all know we should eat veggies and plant produce, but how many of you can safely say they are having nine cups of plants a day? (Yup, nine!)

Nine cups (for adults) is what is advised to ensure an array of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, fibre, antioxidants and good starches are consumed.

Fibre is what’s known as a pre-biotic. Prebiotics are the fuel source for our probiotics, or good bugs for our gut.

Fibre is an incredibly important detoxifier of our gut and bowel, literally sweeping the matter from the bowel. Inadequate fibre intake has been linked to bowel cancer and a range of other digestive symptoms such as constipation, bloating and pain.

So what does nine cups of plant produce look like on your plate in a day? Let’s take a look:

Brekkie might be some eggs with half an avocado, a big cup of spinach and some mushrooms and tomato, or it might be a smoothie with green leafies, avocado, cucumber, mint, lime, and banana. Or buckwheat and banana pancakes topped with stewed pear and berries.

Snacks can be a mug of veggie soup, a few pieces of fruit, veggie sticks and Beetroot or carrot hummus (more veg, bonus!) Lunches and dinners can be a mix of a big green salad with some roast veg tossed through, soups and stews jam packed with a variety a veg, fritters and frittatas. Pesto made with fresh herbs and greens. Dips made with eggplant. Sauces made with fresh tomato.

Add a side salad to each meal. And eat the rainbow! Colour is king!

I recently had the privilege of working closely with Dr Terry Wahls of the Wahl’s protocol. Terry has spent years compiling research on the benefits of including lots of plant-based food into your diet as a way to improve healing and recovery, particularly in auto-immune conditions.

She also advocates for reducing gluten and dairy in inflammatory conditions and incorporates small amounts of animal protein. This research was presented at the recent international symposium on auto-immune disease. We heard from integrative immunologists, neurologists , physicians and paediatricians. The sentiment most resoundingly echoed by each presenter was the inclusion of plenty of vegetables.

Greens contain vitamin K2 vital for nerve and brain function, bone and digestive health. Brightly coloured fruits and vegetables contains 100s of phytonutrients that you cannot get from a multi vitamin.

Cruciferous veg such as broccoli, cauli and crowd favourite, Brussels sprouts, all contain sulphur, integral for the sulphation pathway in the liver for essential detoxification. Herbs like turmeric are highly anti-inflammatory. Garlic contains constituents to rival antibiotics in some cases. You catch my drift.

Eat your veggies! Ferment them, eat ‘em raw or cooked, salad or soup, get creative!

Bec Winkler is a naturopath with more than 10 years’ experience. She works at the Chiropractic Centre, Jan Juc.