Can you get all the vitamins from vegetables if you don't eat fruits?

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Is there any fruit that has an important nutrient that can't be found in any vegetable?

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  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    As I have been lead to understand, vegetables have all the nutrients fruit has. Eat a variety of vegetables and other foods, and you don't need fruit. Most people like fruit though.
  • RachelElser
    RachelElser Posts: 1,049 Member
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    sure, lots of people eat bananas for potassium but veggies have it too- beet greens, spinach, Lima beans are all high in potassium. Bell peppers and broccoli are high in vitamin C, potato and spinach are good for vitamin B and tomato and carrots are for vitamin A. And that's just a few
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
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    I eat tons of vegetables, and little fruit. Works well for me.
  • Sukisumi
    Sukisumi Posts: 96 Member
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    I don't know how true it is but I was always told that having a variety of colours (be it fruit or veg) gives you a variety of vitamins so I just try to have a variety of colours on my plate/as a snack. Sorry if this is wrong, it's just what I've heard!
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
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    jkwolly wrote: »
    I eat tons of vegetables, and little fruit. Works well for me.

    This. I'm not a fan of sweet stuff and can take or leave fruit. I'll put blueberries in my oat bowls once in a while but that's about it. I eat a lot of veggies though so it all evens out :)
  • Sairzie
    Sairzie Posts: 122 Member
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    I'm a big fan of veggies and rarely eat fruit, I'm just not a fan of most types! But I work in healthcare and part of that involves seeing patients with diabetes and a big health message we're giving them is when looking to get your five a day, try to keep it to just 1-2 portions of fruit and the rest in vegetables because the nutrients are there but the sugar levels are much lower.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    edited January 2017
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    The likelihood that one is meeting all of their nutrient needs even by eating BOTH fruits and vegetables and a large variety of said foods is already low.

    Is it POSSIBLE? sure. Is it likely? I say absolutely not.

    A nutritionally adequate diet (regardless of whether you eat fruits, veggies, meats, grains, etc.) requires proper planning.
  • mlp2522
    mlp2522 Posts: 4 Member
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    You should be able to get everything from vegetables that you get from fruit.

    Often people eat "vegetables" that are actually fruits (cucumbers, eggplant, avocado, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and olives).

    If you are just avoiding sweet fruits, you should have even less troubles.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
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    mlp2522 wrote: »
    You should be able to get everything from vegetables that you get from fruit.

    Often people eat "vegetables" that are actually fruits (cucumbers, eggplant, avocado, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and olives).

    If you are just avoiding sweet fruits, you should have even less troubles.

    Wait, what?

    Maybe I eat a lot more fruit than I thought I did lol :)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    edited January 2017
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    mlp2522 wrote: »
    You should be able to get everything from vegetables that you get from fruit.

    Often people eat "vegetables" that are actually fruits (cucumbers, eggplant, avocado, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and olives).

    If you are just avoiding sweet fruits, you should have even less troubles.

    Wait, what?

    Maybe I eat a lot more fruit than I thought I did lol :)

    Yup...if it carries the seed, it's a technically a fruit...but I treat them like veg
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    I eat tons of veggies and no fruit whatsoever and my blood always come back fine. I've been told, and believe that there's nothing in fruit you can't get from veg and that the main reason various government guidelines say to have some of each is because most people like fruit better and are more likely to hit the target if they have both.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,024 Member
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    rainbowbow wrote: »
    The likelihood that one is meeting all of their nutrient needs even by eating BOTH fruits and vegetables and a large variety of said foods is already low.

    Is it POSSIBLE? sure. Is it likely? I say absolutely not.

    A nutritionally adequate diet (regardless of whether you eat fruits, veggies, meats, grains, etc.) requires proper planning.


    I dont agree with this - I think for most people eating a wide variety of foods, including fruit and veg, is sufficient to cover ones nutritional needs.


  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    rainbowbow wrote: »
    The likelihood that one is meeting all of their nutrient needs even by eating BOTH fruits and vegetables and a large variety of said foods is already low.

    Is it POSSIBLE? sure. Is it likely? I say absolutely not.

    A nutritionally adequate diet (regardless of whether you eat fruits, veggies, meats, grains, etc.) requires proper planning.


    I dont agree with this - I think for most people eating a wide variety of foods, including fruit and veg, is sufficient to cover ones nutritional needs.


    Agreed. Humans aren't these delicate petals that need to micromanage their intake to hit acceptable levels. We're omnivores and scavangers and a person with decent variety in their diet will hit their makers just right.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    If you are eating a wide variety of vegetables, you are probably going to get the same nutrients from them as you would get from fruit. Keep in mind that some vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin B12, are more abundant in enriched foods, meat, or dairy than they are in plants.

    While there's a growing set of medical professionals who think vitamin supplements are unnecessary, the doctors and dietitians I've asked feel that it's fine to take one if you think you need it.
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
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    So, fruits and veggies, the way we refer to them in eating, is actually a culinary definition, not a botanical one. And as their actual physical makeup is what determines what nutrients they have, you absolutely do not have to eat fruit to get enough nutrients. The fruit you get that we call veggies would be enough

    What we call vegetables are roots, leaves, fruits, tubers, and a few other oddities. What we call fruit are fruit, plus a few other oddities (like strawberries, which are a 'fleshy receptacle' (the actual term) for the seeds, which ARE the fruit part of the strawberry.).


    As far as I know, it's not that they are sweet that is the reason we have them in the food pyramid as different, it's the COLOR. Different pigments tend to go along with certain nutrients (so yeah, eating the rainbow, that really is a helpful concept). Foods we call fruit are much more likely to come in some of the bright orange, reds, and blues/purples that contain a specific set of nutrients that can be good to have.

    There are veggies that have these too, but more veggies are green, white, or brown, you know?