Diabetes Forecast February 2005

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FOR TYPE 1/TYPE 2

Healthy Eating

Salad To Squash
Vary Your Veggies
By Robyn Webb, MS, LN

I'm always thrilled when I hear that someone is routinely eating veggies.

Vegetables pack a powerful nutritional punch, particularly those with deep colors. Colorful vegetables contain vitamins, minerals, fiber, and substances known as phytochemicals that fight off diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

Scientists are still learning about the different benefits offered by various vegetables, so the wider the variety of vegetables you eat, the better. If you're not a big eater of vegetables now, start out slow and gradually add new ones to your diet. You might be surprised at how much these natural foods enhance your life.

Recipe of the Month: Curried Cauliflower Soup
Product of the Month: Tumaro's Gourmet Tortillas

Eat Your Veggies!

Light-colored lettuce, radishes, celery, cucumber, zucchini, and yellow squash provide less fiber and fewer vitamins and minerals than some other vegetables. But the caloric content of these vegetables is low, and many people enjoy their mild tastes. In combination with other foods and vegetables, they could prove to be very healthful additions to your diet.

Vegetables that are very high in nutrients include artichokes, asparagus, beets, bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, cooking greens and dark salad greens, corn, eggplant, fennel, green beans, mushrooms, parsnips, peas, potatoes (sweet and white), tomatoes, turnips and rutabagas, and winter squash (particularly pumpkin).

What's In It For You?

Here are some of the benefits offered by a handful of these wonderful vegetables:

Bell Peppers: Super sources of vitamin C and flavonoids. Ounce for ounce, a red pepper contains four times the vitamin C of an orange.

Broccoli: A cup of cooked broccoli contains not only more vitamin C than an orange, but ample amounts of phytochemicals, including beta-carotene, sulforaphane, and indoles.

Brussels Sprouts: Packed with antioxidants.

Cabbage: A rich source of vitamin C and phytochemicals.

Carrots: The leading source of beta-carotene, with high levels of flavonoids that function as antioxidants.

Cauliflower: In the same category as broccoli and Brussels sprouts; has a high level of phytochemicals.

Cooking Greens: Kale, swiss chard, dandelion greens, turnip greens, and collard greens are excellent sources of vitamin C, calcium, and iron. Kale has one of the highest levels of antioxidants of any of the fruits and vegetables.

Tomatoes: Besides being an excellent source of vitamin C, tomatoes have a tremendous amount of lycopene, a possible cancer fighter. This substance is available mostly when the tomatoes have been cooked, so don't overlook canned tomatoes.

Turnips and Rutabagas: These cruciferous veggies are an excellent source of vitamin C.

Cooked Or Raw?

Should you eat your vegetables cooked or raw? Both!

As you may have heard, exposing vegetables to a lot of heat can destroy the very nutrients, particularly vitamin C, that we want to preserve. However, cooking some vegetables actually brings out their nutrients. Cooking carrots breaks down their tough cell walls, releasing more beta-carotene. Cooking broccoli releases more of the indole content by freeing a crucial enzyme.

When you cook your vegetables, cook them just enough to make them tender, but still crisp. Cook only what you plan to eat over a maximum of two to three days. The longer you allow vegetables to sit around, the more they lose their wonderful nutrients.

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The latest cookbook by Robyn Webb, MS, LN, and Hope S. Warshaw, MMSC, RD, CDE, The Diabetes Food And Nutrition Bible, is published by the American Diabetes Association. This, as well as other books by Robyn, can be ordered from the Association's online bookstore at http://store.diabetes.org or by calling 1-800-ADA-ORDER.