1. Prebiotics are the fibrous long-chain sugars that your probiotics (your good gut bugs) need to eat. Prebiotics abound in yams, jicama, tiger nuts, rutabagas, parsnips, sun chokes, chicory, artichokes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, endive, mushrooms, radicchio and taro root. (“The Longevity Paradox” by Steven R. Gundry, MD)
2. Vegetables are your brain’s best friend, especially the non-starchy varieties like dark leafy greens that are full of essential nutrients like folate and magnesium. (“Genius Foods” by Max Lugavere)
3. Soothe your gut by eating veggies that are higher in soluble fiber and lower in insoluble fiber. These include: carrots, winter squash, peeled summer squash, yams, sweet potatoes, turnips, rutabagas, parsnips, beets, plantains, taro and yuca. (“Your Personal Paleo Code” by Chris Kresser)
4. Bitter vegetables spark digestive fire. They have been used for centuries in natural approaches to healing. Dandelion greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, watercress and other bitter greens taste great when wilted into a warm salad, sautéed, or nibbled raw. (“Natural Solutions for Digestive Health” by Dr. Jillian S. Teta & Jeanette Bessinger, CHHC)
5. The more vegetables you eat daily, the better. Buy organic, farm fresh, and local whenever you can. Include different colors. Each color provides a different family of antioxidants and polyphenols, which activate different genes that keep you healthy and strong. Also, eating vegetable fiber creates butyrate, which is an important fuel for the inside lining of your intestines. (“Autoimmune Fix” by Tom O’Bryan DC, CCN, DACBN)
6. Vegetables that are gently cooked are a highly nutritious component of an alkaline healing diet. Try to eat 2 roots, 2 crucifers, and 1-2 greens daily. Roots include turnips, rutabaga, parsnips, onions, carrots, celery root, golden beets, daikon, black radish, yams, sweet potatoes, garlic, and ginger. Crucifers are cabbage, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli (my favorite!). Leafy greens include spinach, kale, collard and mustard greens, Swiss chard, beet, and carrot greens. Other excellent vegetables are peas and green beans. If you crave a raw vegetable have a little jicama, carrot, celery, or salad. (“Nutritional Balancing and Hair Mineral Analysis” by Lawrence Wilson, M.D.)
7. Forget about grains and dairy. Get those nutrients elsewhere. Pack in 3 cups of leafy greens every day, the darker the green color the better. Add in another 3 cups of deeply colored vegetables like carrots, beets, winter squash, and tomatoes. Then round it out with 3 cups of sulphur-rich veggies including broccoli, cabbage, asparagus, Brussel sprouts, turnips, radishes, onions, and garlic. In order to get a lot of concentrated nutrients, you need to eat lots of vegetables! And sufficient vegetable intake will mean you don’t go wandering into the troubled territory of highly inflammatory foods like grains and dairy. Better to add in some organic seasonal fruit instead if you still feel hungry. (“The Wahls Protocol” by Terry Wahls, M.D.)
8. What are the most popular vegetables in centenarian cultures around the world? The superfood veggies for longevity are: fennel, the seaweeds wakame and kombu (cook your beans with a stick of kombu), shiitake mushrooms, sweet potatoes, yams, squashes, and wild greens. (“The Blue Zone Solution” by Dan Buettner).

Summer gives us wonderful locally grown vegetables that are readily available at farmers and health markets around the world. And if you feel stalled about how to weave more veggies into your daily diet, pick up one of the books mentioned above.

Wishing you a terrific summer,

Van