Vegetables: benefits, chemical composition

Since ancient times, vegetables for man occupy one of the main places in nutrition. So let's talk about what vegetables are and why they are so useful. So, the theme of our today's article is "Vegetables: benefits, chemical composition".

Vegetables - this is a fairly capacious concept. In the world a huge variety of vegetables, various to taste. They are divided into several groups:

- beets, turnips, carrots, horseradish and the like - root crops;

- sweet potatoes, potatoes and others - tubers;

- all varieties of cabbage - cabbage;

- garlic and various onions - onion;

- eggplants, tomatoes and peppers - tomato;

- zucchini, pumpkin, cucumber and the like - pumpkin;

- any beans and peas - beans.

For us it is very important that the suppliers of vitamins for humans are all edible vegetables, fruits, berries, cultural and wild. All plants are almost 90% water. In addition to water, the plants also contain cellulose, pectin, starch, nitrogenous substances, vitamins, essential oils, organic acids, enzymes and many others, which favorably affect the work of the whole organism.

Our ancestors, even without the idea of ​​the content of vitamins in vegetables and the biological properties of plants, widely used them not only in nutrition, but also in the treatment of a number of diseases. For example, to prevent and treat such a serious disease as scurvy, a person needs vitamin C. This vitamin is in sufficient quantities in such vegetables as peppers (the largest content), in second place - parsley and dill. In various types of cabbage (Brussels, color and white) is also present vitamin C. In winter, most of the vitamin we get with cabbage, especially sauerkraut. The fact is that this vegetable during storage, slower than others, loses vitamins.

Other vitamins are necessary for a full life. For example, such vitamins as folacin and carotene are also rich in our plant friends. Most of folacin is found in parsley, spinach and salads. And carotene is especially rich in carrots, wild garlic, garlic and onions. Also it is enough in red pepper, salad and parsley. The composition of vegetables includes also mineral substances, it is a little potassium and sodium. There is a lot of iron, zinc, aluminum, manganese and copper. Organic acids are also found in plants. This is apple and lemon, oxalic, tartaric and benzoic. All acids improve the activity of the intestine and have bactericidal properties.

All vegetables and their chemical composition have a bright aroma to varying degrees. This is due to the presence in the plants of essential oils. These oils enhance digestion, have a diuretic effect and, in addition, have a disinfection effect. Therefore, if vegetables contain a large amount of essential oils, they are excluded from the diet of people with diseases of the stomach, liver and kidneys.

Contained in plants, phytoncides perfectly destroy various microbes in the oral cavity and in the gastrointestinal tract. Bactericidal properties are used in the treatment of many diseases. Helps with inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, with the flu, with dysentery and inflammation of the eyes. Even with prolonged storage, under the influence of high and low temperatures, phytacids retain their properties. The largest number of phytacides are garlic, onion, radish, horseradish, red pepper, tomatoes, carrots and beets.

One of the valuable characteristics of vegetables is the maintenance of a sufficient amount of fiber and pectin substances, so the benefits of vegetables are obvious .. These substances improve the digestive system, contribute to the timely purification of our body. Therefore, vegetables with a high fiber content doctors recommend to use for elderly people suffering from atherosclerosis and constipation. Beans, green peas, millet, dried fruits, as well as carrots, parsley and beets, these are the vegetables with the most fiber.

So, let's talk about some vegetables in detail.

Cabbage , this is a wonderful vegetable, without which we can not do without. For us, women, cabbage is simply necessary. Calories in it is very small, but there is much benefit. Such a rare antioxidant - indole-3-carbinol "lives" in cabbage. And he helps us avoid such a terrible disease as breast cancer. Because indole-3-carbinol helps accelerate the removal of harmful estrogen. For people suffering from overweight, atherosclerosis, heart disease, dysbiosis and many other diseases, an indispensable cabbage product. It contains a large amount of ascorbic acid (in a stump), vitamins B1, B2 and B3, as well as beta-carotene, pectin and folic acid.

Another very useful vegetable is also known to people - asparagus . Nutritionists say that there is no person who would not be useful asparagus. With any disease, asparagus dishes will support you. Traditional medicine considers asparagus a vegetable for men. They say that it improves the potency perfectly. Asparagus shoots contain amino acids, vitamins PP, B1, B2 and a considerable amount of mineral salts (potassium, iron, magnesium and phosphorus).

And what about a beautiful green salad that grows in every garden. He is not only beautiful, but also useful for various diseases. Green salad - an excellent remedy for nervous disorders and insomnia. It is advised to use breastfeeding mothers to increase the amount of milk. With thyroid disease, peptic ulcer, with diabetes and stomach diseases, salad is also indispensable. The leaves of this vegetable contain a large amount of chlorophyll, vitamins B1, B2, B3, PP, K and C, including calcium, magnesium, iron, cobalt, zinc, iodine and phosphorus.

Without tomatoes, many do not think their own table. And what is so useful for a tomato? We will not talk about the large number of vitamins and minerals in this vegetable, everyone knows it. I want to mention the main trump card of tomato, it is a wonderful antioxidant lycopene. This substance enables older people to maintain mental and physical activity.

Tomato is a low-calorie vegetable. Its powerful weapon is the maintenance in a huge quantity of an antioxidant - lycopene. Lycopene is a natural remedy for many diseases, it helps protect men from prostate cancer, and women from cervical cancer, stops the division of tumors. In thermally processed tomatoes, the share of lycopene is much higher than in fresh tomatoes. From which it follows that they are much more useful in stew. Scientists suggest that lycopene reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. To let the salad with tomatoes bring more benefit, it should be filled with sunflower or olive oil.

In addition to lycopene, it contains a huge amount of useful trace elements, such as potassium, iodine, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, sodium, manganese, calcium, copper, zinc and vitamins B, C, E, K, PP and beta-carotene.

Useful properties of tomatoes are very versatile, they are a good antidepressant, regulating the work of the nervous system, and thanks to serotonin improve mood.

Carrots are useful in diseases of the kidneys, liver, hypertension, salt deposits and constipation. But you need to keep in mind that when colitis, exacerbation of peptic ulcer - it is contraindicated. It also improves appetite, digestion. Carrots are an excellent healing remedy, so it is recommended for stomach ulcers and duodenal ulcers. It is very important that carrot juice increases the body's immunity, leading to a reduction in infectious diseases, and also strengthens the nervous system and helps increase human energy. Carotene, which is contained in carrots, is needed for our eyes to improve vision, but carotene is absorbed by the body only together with fats. Therefore, it is useful to eat carrots with moderately fatty foods, such as sour cream, butter.

Garlic is a storehouse of nutrients and also contributes to the fight against colds. In addition, garlic kills harmful microorganisms in the stomach, while restoring its flora. This product is also useful for those who want to lower the cholesterol content in the blood. Of course, in raw form garlic is much more useful, but after heat treatment garlic loses its unpleasant smell.

Eggplant - its consumption in food helps to lower the level of cholesterol in the blood, and also the flesh of fruits contains a considerable amount of potassium, which normalizes water metabolism in the body and at the same time improves the functioning of the heart muscle. In addition, the eggplant interferes with the body's absorption of cholesterol, while normalizing the lipid metabolism.

Broccoli is rich in vitamin C and U, fat-soluble vitamin (K), nicotinic acid (PP) and beta-carotene. In broccoli, 2.5 times more vitamin C than in citrus, making this its champion in the amount of this vitamin. As for beta-carotene, which is present in broccoli, it promotes a good tan. The high content of mineral substances and protein makes broccoli the main competitor to such a vegetable as cauliflower, containing 2 times more substances than in the latter. Useful information for slimming, broccoli contains only 30 calories per 100 gr.

So many good words can be said about any vegetable. They are extremely useful. If we eat enough vegetables, we care about our body. Vegetables not only perfectly excrete various toxins and wastes, but are indispensable helpers in the treatment of various diseases. Substances contained in vegetables, strengthen the capillaries and have a beneficial effect on the composition of the blood.

In order to preserve all useful substances in vegetables, you need to subject them to minimal heat treatment. Now you know everything about the vegetables, the benefits, the chemical composition of these foods, which must necessarily be a constant guest on your table.