What happens if you don't eat much fruit and vegetables?

2

Replies

  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
    You can probably get all the vitamins, antioxidants, etc. you need from a variety of vegetables, so I doubt you NEED to eat fruit if you are eating enough vegetables. Most vegetables are also lower in calories and sugar than fruit, so that works in your favor.

    But if you eat neither fruits nor vegetables, I doubt that is good for you for reasons others have already mentioned.

    Btw, if it is just raw fruit you don't like the texture of...you can try baked apples or pears...a very different taste and texture than raw. Or try freezing grapes...again, a very different texture and they taste, IMHO, better frozen.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    I'd say: learn to eat like a grown up. Vegetables should be half your plate.
  • raysputin
    raysputin Posts: 142 Member
    Recent reseach shows that humans do not need carbohydrates at all - we can get all our energy from protein and fat. It all depends on your total nutrient intake. The Inuit did not eat fruit or veggies before European contact. They had no type 2 diabetes, little heart disease, no tooth decay, no scurvy and led happy, healthy lives. The Inuit got their vitamin C from chewing whaleskin. If you want to cut out anything, get rid of the fruit. Fructose is the worst if you are trying to lose weight. Cutting fruit does reduce fibre and this can have long and short term negative effects but fibre is available from other sources. The most fibre dense foods readily available to developed countries are seed-based.
  • jrose1982
    jrose1982 Posts: 366 Member
    edited December 2014
    I once read an article about how eating habits in Alaska have changed in the last 100 years or so. One thing that I think is relevant to your question: During winter, Alaskan's used to go 6-8 months without eating any plants. This was, of course, because they didn't have any (except what they could store, which isn't much). Plant-based foods have only been available in Alaska during winter after they started flying in produce from the lower-48. Before that, winter diets were based on what they could hunt and catch. But they did get the micronutrients they need by eating organ meats - i.e. liver, heart, etc. Animal organs are very high in micronutrients.

    Might want to try eating liver once in a while (I prefer vegetables, myself).

    Wish I could find that article...
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    Ugh, organ meats and whaleskin. That is an option. I'd be (even) thinner than I am now, because that is friggin' gross.
  • jrose1982
    jrose1982 Posts: 366 Member
    Ugh, organ meats and whaleskin. That is an option. I'd be (even) thinner than I am now, because that is friggin' gross.

    Gross enough to grow an appreciate for fruit and vegetables?
  • NarwhalofNight
    NarwhalofNight Posts: 75 Member
    MoiAussi93 wrote: »
    You can probably get all the vitamins, antioxidants, etc. you need from a variety of vegetables, so I doubt you NEED to eat fruit if you are eating enough vegetables. Most vegetables are also lower in calories and sugar than fruit, so that works in your favor.

    But if you eat neither fruits nor vegetables, I doubt that is good for you for reasons others have already mentioned.

    Btw, if it is just raw fruit you don't like the texture of...you can try baked apples or pears...a very different taste and texture than raw. Or try freezing grapes...again, a very different texture and they taste, IMHO, better frozen.

    I see. For fruits,I will try them dry, if I like them on bars dried I should like them dry.
  • NarwhalofNight
    NarwhalofNight Posts: 75 Member
    jrose1982 wrote: »
    Ugh, organ meats and whaleskin. That is an option. I'd be (even) thinner than I am now, because that is friggin' gross.

    Gross enough to grow an appreciate for fruit and vegetables?

    I think I may have found good ways, thanks to all these suggestions, so I will be skipping out on whaleskin and livers :smiley:
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    raysputin wrote: »
    Recent reseach shows that humans do not need carbohydrates at all - we can get all our energy from protein and fat. It all depends on your total nutrient intake. The Inuit did not eat fruit or veggies before European contact. They had no type 2 diabetes, little heart disease, no tooth decay, no scurvy and led happy, healthy lives. The Inuit got their vitamin C from chewing whaleskin. If you want to cut out anything, get rid of the fruit. Fructose is the worst if you are trying to lose weight. Cutting fruit does reduce fibre and this can have long and short term negative effects but fibre is available from other sources. The most fibre dense foods readily available to developed countries are seed-based.

    Where are the studies for this? What is the problem with consuming fructose? I just had a little clementine orange, does that mean I'm going to gain weight with its 26 calories?
  • Swiftlet66
    Swiftlet66 Posts: 729 Member
    You will die eventually but to slow that process and prevent potential risks for chronic diseases, you need lots of good vitamins and mineral. If you're not getting enough of that through fruits/vegetables, try eating liver instead! :# Otherwise, you can hide vegetables in your cooking, slather on butter to increase the appeal, or you can also talk to your doctor about potentially taking supplements if none of the above.
  • LifeInTheBikeLane
    LifeInTheBikeLane Posts: 345 Member
    We keep huge industrial sized bag of frozen spinach in our freezer and put it in almost every single thing we eat. I think that counts. Try that!
  • FitnessTrainer69
    FitnessTrainer69 Posts: 283 Member
    I highly doubt youd die if your taking some sort of supp. But your missing out on some important nutrients that you cant get in a pill.
  • feralX
    feralX Posts: 334 Member
    OP, is this a serious post or are you a troll? I'm not really sure. If it's real, listen to your ma and eat your damn fruits and veggies.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    feralX wrote: »
    OP, is this a serious post or are you a troll? I'm not really sure. If it's real, listen to your ma and eat your damn fruits and veggies.

    Indeed.
    I stole this from someone else, but it's a good image:
    qzrcjm.gif
  • NarwhalofNight
    NarwhalofNight Posts: 75 Member
    We keep huge industrial sized bag of frozen spinach in our freezer and put it in almost every single thing we eat. I think that counts. Try that!


    Yep,just bought a bag of frozen veggies and lunch and diner I will eat 50g each meal.
  • NarwhalofNight
    NarwhalofNight Posts: 75 Member
    feralX wrote: »
    OP, is this a serious post or are you a troll? I'm not really sure. If it's real, listen to your ma and eat your damn fruits and veggies.


    Seroious, even though it sounds immature I know, my family wasn't fruit and vegy eater very much so yeah, gotta catch up now.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    We keep huge industrial sized bag of frozen spinach in our freezer and put it in almost every single thing we eat. I think that counts. Try that!


    Yep,just bought a bag of frozen veggies and lunch and diner I will eat 50g each meal.
    Learn how to prepare them well, or it will be torture.

  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    Ugh, organ meats and whaleskin. That is an option. I'd be (even) thinner than I am now, because that is friggin' gross.

    There are more disgusting things out there than liver and whaleskin. (Just Google "disgusting delicacies"...)

    But yes, when it comes to nutrient density, liver actually blows just about every vegetable out of the water. And yes, if you include the "weird" cuts in your diet at least once in a while, you can live without any deficiencies, purely on meat.
    EWJLang wrote: »
    Deficiencies in fiber and multiple nutrients.

    There are people who swear by cutting carbs, others who swear by cutting fat....You know how many sensible people swear by cutting out vegetables? ~crickets~

    I know (and know of) many, actually. Some of which swear that an all-meat diet saved their life (in fact, from what I've seen, the more "extreme" people go, such as raw or even rotten meat, the more health issues they had before doing it and found a raw meat diet to solve those issues where everything else had failed).

    The only nutrients that are even questionably low in an all-meat diet are vitamins E and C. Vitamin C can be found in numerous organs, and vitamin E can be found in the fat (since it's a fat soluble vitamin), so as long as you're not trying to live off lean muscle meat, you're actually fine.

    That said, most people don't eat offal and marrow anymore, and so, don't eat the sources of vitamins that are also found in vegetables. This is where vegetables can come in (and why people think that we need vegetables -- we do if we're only eating the muscle and only small amounts of the fat, and not eating the organs and more of the fat).

    And no, you don't need fiber. In fact, it has been shown to exacerbate constipation, instead of relieve it, and a low fiber diet doesn't cause constipation. (And on the topic of gut flora, here's some interesting observations on the specific changes in gut flora based on what is eaten.)
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    We keep huge industrial sized bag of frozen spinach in our freezer and put it in almost every single thing we eat. I think that counts. Try that!


    Yep,just bought a bag of frozen veggies and lunch and diner I will eat 50g each meal.
    Learn how to prepare them well, or it will be torture.

    torture? ok, frozen veggies are tough. Microwave for a few minutes, season a bit or not, then eat.
  • NarwhalofNight
    NarwhalofNight Posts: 75 Member
    We keep huge industrial sized bag of frozen spinach in our freezer and put it in almost every single thing we eat. I think that counts. Try that!


    Yep,just bought a bag of frozen veggies and lunch and diner I will eat 50g each meal.
    Learn how to prepare them well, or it will be torture.


    Yeah, may have undercooked them, like them softer, will make sure I get it right next time haha.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    I'd be miserable. Filling up on veggies (I rarely eat fruit) is what prevents me from being hungry most days. I can't even think of anything else that is as filling for the calories.

    I see... I only eat carrots but it's not taste satisfying.

    So steam them and slather them in butter. Or dip them in ranch dressing (or other tasty sauce). No one ever said you had to eat them by themselves.

    Put avocado on your sandwiches, along with tomato, onion, and lettuce. Put bacon, avocado, and cheese on a salad base of good, green vegetables (at least romaine, don't bother with iceburg lettuce). Toss a handful of spinach or other greens into a blender with some milk, strawberries, and ice, for a great smoothie. Make meatballs.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    edited December 2014
    I'm not a big fan of veggies, either. Like people say, keep trying them and try them different ways.

    I'm working my way through veggies. If I hate it, I give up. No preperation of broccoli will ever make me like it. Things I don't really like, though, I can sometimes jazz them up so that they aren't bad.

    Though I'd love for everything to be a delight to eat, it just hasn't worked out that way. This is not one of life's major problems. :)

    If you skip fruits and veggies, you miss out on nutrients and fiber. You can still lose weight, you'll just risk being less healthy than if you ate them.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    We keep huge industrial sized bag of frozen spinach in our freezer and put it in almost every single thing we eat. I think that counts. Try that!


    Yep,just bought a bag of frozen veggies and lunch and diner I will eat 50g each meal.
    Learn how to prepare them well, or it will be torture.


    Yeah, may have undercooked them, like them softer, will make sure I get it right next time haha.
    Steamed, stir fried, roasted....lots of great vegetables out there.

  • NarwhalofNight
    NarwhalofNight Posts: 75 Member
    We keep huge industrial sized bag of frozen spinach in our freezer and put it in almost every single thing we eat. I think that counts. Try that!


    Yep,just bought a bag of frozen veggies and lunch and diner I will eat 50g each meal.
    Learn how to prepare them well, or it will be torture.


    Yeah, may have undercooked them, like them softer, will make sure I get it right next time haha.
    Steamed, stir fried, roasted....lots of great vegetables out there.

    Yeah, but I want to try to keep them as natural/raw as possible,
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    We keep huge industrial sized bag of frozen spinach in our freezer and put it in almost every single thing we eat. I think that counts. Try that!


    Yep,just bought a bag of frozen veggies and lunch and diner I will eat 50g each meal.
    Learn how to prepare them well, or it will be torture.


    Yeah, may have undercooked them, like them softer, will make sure I get it right next time haha.
    Steamed, stir fried, roasted....lots of great vegetables out there.

    Yeah, but I want to try to keep them as natural/raw as possible,

    steaming or roasting does not add anything bad, does not destroy any nutrients and can bring out the flavor as opposed to raw
  • NarwhalofNight
    NarwhalofNight Posts: 75 Member
    Dave198lbs wrote: »
    We keep huge industrial sized bag of frozen spinach in our freezer and put it in almost every single thing we eat. I think that counts. Try that!


    Yep,just bought a bag of frozen veggies and lunch and diner I will eat 50g each meal.
    Learn how to prepare them well, or it will be torture.


    Yeah, may have undercooked them, like them softer, will make sure I get it right next time haha.
    Steamed, stir fried, roasted....lots of great vegetables out there.

    Yeah, but I want to try to keep them as natural/raw as possible,

    steaming or roasting does not add anything bad, does not destroy any nutrients and can bring out the flavor as opposed to raw

    Oh wait, actually I may have miss read what he said...

  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Dave198lbs wrote: »
    We keep huge industrial sized bag of frozen spinach in our freezer and put it in almost every single thing we eat. I think that counts. Try that!


    Yep,just bought a bag of frozen veggies and lunch and diner I will eat 50g each meal.
    Learn how to prepare them well, or it will be torture.


    Yeah, may have undercooked them, like them softer, will make sure I get it right next time haha.
    Steamed, stir fried, roasted....lots of great vegetables out there.

    Yeah, but I want to try to keep them as natural/raw as possible,

    steaming or roasting does not add anything bad, does not destroy any nutrients and can bring out the flavor as opposed to raw

    This
  • NarwhalofNight
    NarwhalofNight Posts: 75 Member
    Dave198lbs wrote: »
    We keep huge industrial sized bag of frozen spinach in our freezer and put it in almost every single thing we eat. I think that counts. Try that!


    Yep,just bought a bag of frozen veggies and lunch and diner I will eat 50g each meal.
    Learn how to prepare them well, or it will be torture.


    Yeah, may have undercooked them, like them softer, will make sure I get it right next time haha.
    Steamed, stir fried, roasted....lots of great vegetables out there.

    Yeah, but I want to try to keep them as natural/raw as possible,

    steaming or roasting does not add anything bad, does not destroy any nutrients and can bring out the flavor as opposed to raw

    This
    Yeah I didn't read it out correctly, I thought stir fry was something else, :stuck_out_tongue:
  • PhoenixGT13
    PhoenixGT13 Posts: 18 Member
    SOUP is the answer for the veggies. Absolutely try lots of soups and fit some vegs in that way. For fruit -- I love cooked apples and pears, try that, they are yummy with a shake of cinnamon and nutmeg on top.

  • jrose1982
    jrose1982 Posts: 366 Member
    I understand where I'm coming from. I grew up in a household that consider french fries to be vegetables (I guess they technically are, but you get what I'm saying). And I hated vegetables (never really crazy about french fries, come to think of it.

    I found two things that helped:
    1) Years ago I decided I wanted to eat more vegetables. I found a book of 3-minute vegetarian meals and started trying some. My kitchen-laziness eventually beat that effort, but not before I found some ways that I could tolerate some vegetables.
    2) I went low-carb and learned through trial and error that not eating enough vegetables makes me feel like crap within a few days. That gave me a good motivation to keep trying different vegetables and different ways to eat them.
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