Variety vs. Quantity: Know Your Vegetables

You might think you eat enough vegetables in a day, but do you eat enough of a variety of them?

When it comes to fruits and veggies, “variety is as important as quantity.”

So wrote the experts at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health about what is food synergy and why it matters. According to their studies…

“No single fruit or vegetable provides all of the nutrients you need to be healthy.”

The study further advises, “Eat a variety of types and colors of produce in order to give your body the mix of nutrients it needs.”

Eating a mix of vegetables – rather than, say, just a large amount of kale day in and day out – is important because it allows the body to take in a wider spectrum of nutrients than a single vegetable source would provide. In addition, many vegetables actually work symbiotically in your body when consumed. This phenomenon is called “food synergy.”

For example, combining green leafy vegetables (such as dandelion greens and spinach) with cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli and cabbage) and citrus fruits creates nutrient powerhouses. Green leafy vegetables are rich sources of iron, and vitamin C (notably in citrus fruits, but also found in many vegetables such as carrots and kale) helps the body absorb plant-based iron (on the other hand, dairy products actually inhibit the body’s natural ability to absorb iron)!

One good way to help you with the task of getting a wide variety of veggies and fruits is to subscribe to a “rainbow” approach to meal planning and shopping. Search for fruits and veggies that contain colors from one end of the spectrum to the other.

A super simple way is to pick up one of our Cold Pressed Greens and make yourself a greens juice! We carefully curated a blend of cruciferous vegetables (kale, broccoli and cabbage) and green leafy vegetables (dandelion greens and spinach), plus lemon juice for a juice formula that meets the recommendations of experts. In addition, we’ve added a blend of cereal grasses and sea vegetables – foods not always easily included in everyone’s daily diets. You can see our complete ingredient list here.

To sum it up, the many benefits of including vegetables in your diet is clear – it offers some protection against certain types of cancer, helps lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, and has a positive effect upon blood sugar which can help keep appetite in check. Just make sure you get a wide variety of vegetables.

Here is a great starting list of (organic!) vegetables and superfoods you should be getting every day to get the most out of a high variety diet:

Kale, Broccoli, Spinach, Celery, Parsley, Dandelion Leaf, Beets, Carrots, Lemon, Apple, Wheat Grass Juice, Aloe leaf gel, Ashwagandha, Alfalfa Leaf, Spirulina, Cracked Cell Chlorella

All these ingredients (20 of them!) are all found in our Organic Pressed Greens 

For more SMART lifestyle tips like this, visit www.smartpressedjuice.com and follow us on Instagram and Twitter, or like us on Facebook. You can also visit our Amazon store to stock up on our delicious juices.

Statements made on this website have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Information provided by this website or this company is not a substitute for direct, individual medical treatment or advice. It is the responsibility of you and your healthcare providers to make all decisions regarding your health. We recommend that you consult with your healthcare providers regarding the diagnosis and treatment of any disease or condition. Products sold on this website are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.