>There is much more that we know than just "Vegetables are good" and we know why they're good. Nutrient dense, packed with fiber to slow digestion, includes necessarily vitamins and minerals to not only absorb the nutrients of your food but to also provide you with the micronutrients you need.
A lot to unpack here. Did deeper, do we really need those micronutrients which make "Vegetables are good". To me, to the extent I dug up, the answer is no.
Micronutrients as vitamins and minerals from fruits and veg? Yes absolutely, they’re essential.
The difference here is that we don’t need a lot of them, not like macronutrients so the majority of us are likely getting our vitamin and mineral intake okay. However deficiencies in certain vitamins can cause problems down the line, it just depends on how deficient you are. Some people also struggle to absorb particular vitamins and minerals and they only realise through symptoms which you might not expect to be because of a deficiency.
The reason vegetables are so good is because they’re usually dense in these nutrients and due to the fibre they possess complement the other foods you eat in terms of nutrient absorption and digestion.
No all good I do appreciate the questioning. Makes us think.
Without going back to my textbooks a good example is iron deficiency, if you are Iron deficient your body cannot effectively transport oxygen in the blood. As it is part of hemoglobin which carries oxygen around the body. Without it you will develop Anemia. Women experience Iron deficiency symptoms much more than men due to menstruation.
Furthermore, Calcium which is essential for bone health, its absorption is aided by iron as well.
Vitamin D, a common deficiency in people that work night shift jobs or underground in the mining industry. Usually need to take supplements.
I do wish I could link some studies to further illustrate "the why" but I don't have enough time. But overall, we don't need much of these at all and we certainly don't NEED to hit our recommended daily intake everyday. The tricky part is if you're quite deficient in one vitamin, it can impact your adsorption of other nutrients as well which can cause larger impacts.
One of the challenges with the food and nutrition industry is the marketing around "if you take vitamins and minerals they will change your life". For the majority of us they won't, but they might if you're deficient. They aren't something you can take that will make you wake up tomorrow magically a better and happier person. Which is how they're marketed, like all things sensationalised.
>There is much more that we know than just "Vegetables are good" and we know why they're good. Nutrient dense, packed with fiber to slow digestion, includes necessarily vitamins and minerals to not only absorb the nutrients of your food but to also provide you with the micronutrients you need.
A lot to unpack here. Did deeper, do we really need those micronutrients which make "Vegetables are good". To me, to the extent I dug up, the answer is no.