It Starts With Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways (22 page)

“I have more allergies to more things than anyone I have ever met. In addition to nearly every form of pollen, corn, soy, and wheat, I have oral allergies to nearly all raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts. When I eat them, my mouth, head, and throat get unbearably itchy. If I continue to eat them, hello anaphylactic shock! During the Whole30, my selection of safe raw fruits and veggies expanded exponentially. I went from lettuce being the only safe thing, to eating apples, oranges, all manner of berries, carrots, peppers, hazelnuts, spinach, cabbage, and so on. After not being able to have them for years, I am downright rabid with excitement.”

—
Kim C., Helena, Montana

We’ve got some breaking news for you here—truly shocking information. Are you ready? Are you sitting down? Here goes …

That’s right—vegetables really do make you healthier! First, vegetables are a nutrient-dense source of carbohydrate. Yes, we know, you don’t actually
need
carbohydrate to survive, but most folks feel their best with enough carbohydrate in their diets to support brain function and activity levels. Choosing vegetables as your primary source of carbs is a great way to get all the energy you need in a micronutrient-dense package
.

In addition, vegetables are distinctly anti-inflammatory. That’s right, a diet rich in vegetables can actually help you battle our old arch nemesis, systemic inflammation, and reduce your risk for lifestyle-related disorders—
stroke, coronary heart disease,
and certain types of
cancer
.

Vegetables (and fruit, which we’ll get to soon) are a rich source of many nutrients and active compounds. Their benefits can’t be explained by a single component, like their vitamin C or fiber content. However, their anti-inflammatory properties are often attributed to the fact that vegetables provide the richest source of antioxidants, which prevent or reverse damage caused by excess free radicals.
^*

So how does our free radical balance get
un
balanced?

Some free radical production is instigated by external sources, like pollution, smoking, radiation, and exposure to sunlight. Others can be created from our food, particularly when we consume certain types of
fats
—remember the seed oils chapter? Free radicals are also normal metabolic byproducts: they’re produced when our immune system is fired up (like when we get an infection or fight off a cold), when we eat too much, or during
strenuous exercise
.

Remember, an overabundance of free radicals in the body can damage cells and your DNA, and are profoundly inflammatory. But we have a natural way of keeping our free radicals in balance—antioxidants. These substances both prevent free radicals from pinballing around in the body damaging healthy cells and, after the free radicals have come and gone, repair the damage they’ve done in our bodies.

However, when antioxidants perform these duties, they sacrifice themselves in the process (how gallant!). Therefore, even though the body produces its own antioxidants, we must continue to replenish our antioxidant stores through the food we eat—
especially
if there are variables (like illness, pollution, an aggressive exercise routine, or a less-than-healthy diet) that keep pumping more free radicals into our system.

Vegetables and fruits have the highest natural concentration of antioxidants—things we bet you’ve heard of, like vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene—so it makes sense that a diet rich in these noble martyrs would help us
fight free radicals
and reduce systemic inflammation.

But remember, food is complex, and vegetables aren’t just antioxidants. You cannot attribute the benefits gained from eating certain foods to one particular nutrient, even if that nutrient is kind of a big deal. (Remember the “I eat whole grains for fiber” argument?)

And like all real food, vegetables aren’t just antioxidants, but an assortment of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, fiber, and compounds that we have yet to even identify, never mind figure out how they work in our bodies.

The good news? You don’t need to understand the complexity of your vegetables to reap the benefits from eating them. Whew.

All this is to say: Eat your vegetables! Eat a wide variety of vegetables daily to ensure a wide range of micronutrients, and make sure you’re including some of the most nutrient-dense options with each meal for maximum benefit.

Below is a list of our vegetable Top 20—the ones we recommend that you keep in regular rotation.

Eat these often!

We’ll point out that some things you might normally spot in the produce section aren’t on our Good Food list. Corn is botanically a grain, while green peas and lima beans are the seeds of legumes, so these “vegetables” are not in our general recommendations. You’ll also notice white potatoes are missing too. Americans eat a lot of white potatoes—and more than a third are in the form of fries or potato chips. Keeping these familiar foods in your diet makes you more likely to return to your old, unhealthy food habits, and since there are
far
more nutrient-dense choices available, take a pass on white potatoes, please.

Finally, an all-too-common refrain from clients, readers, and workshop attendees is, “But I don’t
like
vegetables!” You want to know what we tell them?

We say it
nicely
, of course. See, it doesn’t matter if you don’t like vegetables, because we’re all grown-ups, and sometimes, grown-ups have to do things they don’t like to do. Like mow the lawn. Or pay bills. Or eat vegetables. If there were a way to be optimally healthy without vegetables, we’d tell you. Really. But there isn’t, so it’s now up to you to figure out a way to get them on your plate (and into your belly).

Most aversion to vegetables is a result of three factors: One, you’ve been eating so many sugary, salty, fatty processed foods that you simply cannot appreciate the natural flavors of fresh vegetables. But the good news is that you’re not eating that stuff anymore, and taste buds are quick to adjust. In just a matter of weeks, you’ll be experiencing new and delicious flavors in your healthy foods, and that will make it easier to start truly enjoying your veggies.

Two, most folks are stuck in a major vegetable rut, relying on just a few familiar choices and avoiding everything else. No wonder you’re bored with your veggies! It’s time to go out on a limb and try something new. Visit your local farmers’ market and ask the farmers what they do with kale, kohlrabi, or leeks. Commit to trying one new vegetable a week. Buy a share in a CSA (community-supported agriculture program), ensuring seasonal variety and delicious, fresh flavors. It’s time to step out of your comfort zone, because we bet you’ll find vegetable options you love if you just make the effort to try something new.

Third, many of us don’t like certain vegetables because of the way they were served to us as a kid. No offense to our moms, but they didn’t always go out of their way to make our vegetables delicious and exciting. So … give your greens another chance. Try different cooking techniques, experiment with herbs and spices, or find a new recipe that features the vegetable. Your taste in fashion has changed in the last ten or twenty years, so why not your taste in vegetables?

The next category of food we think makes you more healthy is fruit. The positive attributes of fruit, another nutrient-dense source of carbohydrate, are remarkably similar to those of vegetables, with just a few special caveats. First, the pluses.

Like vegetables, fruits are a carbohydrate source loaded with vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and fiber. In addition,
diets rich in fruit
and compounds found in fruit (like vitamin C) have been associated with a reduced risk of systemic inflammation and related conditions and diseases. (Remember, fruit is real food—a complex makeup of health-promoting substances!) In addition, fruit provides your taste buds with
natural
sweetness in a much healthier (and nutrient-packed) form than the supernormal sweetness of candy, cookies, or cake.

Much as with vegetables, we’d encourage you to eat a wide variety of fruits (especially when they’re in season). Refer to our chart for a list of our fruit Top 10—eat these on a regular basis to ensure you are getting the widest array of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.

Best fruit choices

You don’t
have
to buy organic produce, but we do think there are major benefits to going organic.
Certified organic
vegetables and fruits are produced without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or artificial food additives. They are generally regarded as more nutrient-dense and environmentally safe than their non-organic counterparts.

However, it’s not always essential that you purchase organic produce. By shopping smart, you can effectively minimize your exposure to toxins, even if you’re not buying organic.

If this approach seems too complicated, follow this general rule of thumb: If the item of produce has an inedible skin, or you’re going to peel it before you eat it, it’s less important to buy organic; if you can’t peel it (like lettuce or grapes), consider spending the extra money for organic.

And keep in mind that not every farmer goes through the rigorous and expensive process of earning a USDA “Certified Organic” designation. Many smaller farming operations are dedicated to organic and biodynamic farming practices but can’t market their products as “certified organic.” When shopping at a farmers’ market or your local health-food store, don’t hesitate to ask how the food was grown. Labels that clearly state “pesticide-free” or “herbicide-free” are another indication that the produce was grown with environmental and health factors in mind.