The produce aisle: God’s apothecary

By Wendell Fowler

---

My entire life would have been complete without overhearing a burly, manly man remark, “I hate veggies so much that I’d eat boogers before I’d eat spinach.” Are you struggling to embrace a healthy diet because you “turnip” your nose at produce? Nearly three out of four Americans aren’t meeting the five-a-day of fruits and vegetables, a mere two-and-a-half cups. Unless you’re an aficionado of late-life morbidity, a shift in your culinary paradigm is essential to blossom and return to wholeness. Gardening, playing golf, wrestling with the grandkids, power shopping, housework, lugging out the trash or engaging in family walks requires a willing, energetic body. After 16 years of catering for NBA private charters I noticed remarkable changes in the athletes’ diet. Today’s players are sensitive that what they place into their overpaid body and what they eat profoundly affects their health, performance and paycheck. We observed teams who constantly ate poor diets had losing records. They didn’t think vegetables were sissy food. [ad#single-post] The CDC reports two-thirds of Americans rebuff eating the minimum of five servings a day and 73 percent of all Americans don’t meet daily guidelines. Getting your daily allowance is easy. A quick trip to the salad bar could cover the minimum. It is, however, counterproductive drowning the green goodies with Bleu Cheese dressing and bacon bits. Does it require bubbly cheddar over broccoli or green beans wallowing in pork fat before you will partake? Sandi teeters back on her heels as if I’d placed Limburger under her nose when I serve steamed broccoli. If, however, I render raw broccoli into dust in the food processor then stealthily add it to a brown rice dish, the cruciferous veggie goes unseen. What if I told you eating a mere three-and-a-half cups of crisp, fresh produce a day may help prevent eye failure, cancer, heart disease and diabetes and help us maintain a healthy weight? Phytochemicals are plant compounds which provide a constellation of groovy health benefits. The colors in fruits and veggies come from phytochemicals. Plant foods contain antioxidants, substances protecting the temple by neutralizing free-radical oxygen molecules that can trash your health. Science is convinced they protect us from the heartbreak of degenerative disease. The “5-A-Day the Color Way” campaign can help our health: Blue and purple veggies lower the risk of some cancers and promote urinary tract health, memory function and healthy aging. Green veggies, everyone’s favorites, lower the risks of some cancers and promote vision health, strong bones and teeth. White produce — such as bananas, jicama, onions, ginger, garlic and cauliflower — lowers the risk of cancer and helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels and encourages heart health. Yellow/orange produce helps maintain heart health, vision and our immune system, and lessens the risk of some cancers. Red produce helps improve memory and heart health, wards off urinary tract infections and lowers the risk of some cancers. Variety is vital. Eating the same fruit or vegetable — yawn — day in and day out is not beneficial. As a family, discover sun-dappled, fibrous fruits and vegetables. Eat produce every day; their phytochemicals and antioxidants provide protection in conjunction with fiber and other plant substances. Wash your produce as if your family’s lives depended on it with much diluted soap and forceful running faucet water. One of our little animal buddies might have left a “gift,” so to speak. To get the most nutritional bang-for-your-buck, don’t feloniously assault them. Steam your vegetables, but leave some crunch. Microwaving wipes out nutrients too. Dust off your old steamer basket in the back of the cabinet and put it to use. Heat kills the vital energy. Here are some quick, delicious ways to do it: www.5aday.org. You can do it!

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.