“Drink eight glasses of water a day.” “Have at least eight hours of sleep.” These are some common statements that people around you often say. But this is a reminder that eating more or enough fruits and vegetables is important too.
Indeed, Erik Pham and his medical team at HealthCanal come with various articles useful in terms of your health. They know that not eating or eating too little fruits and vegetables comes with various consequences. For the same reason, this article is made for you.
Top 5 indicators that you should consume more fruits and veggies
Changes in Nails, Hair, and Gums
Try to reexamine your gums. While it is true that improper oral hygiene can be a primary factor in why your gums get damaged, not eating enough fruits and vegetables can also make your gums bleed. This can occur because of a vitamin C deficiency, as the human body does not have the ability to produce such a vitamin. Also, lack of vitamin C does not protect you from getting bruises easily, as the said vitamin helps strengthen your immune system, promotes faster healing, and prevents cell damages.
Similarly, lack of vitamin B7 or Biotin may result in your hair and nails becoming thin and/or split. Therefore, this energy-helping nutrient helps strengthen or maintain your nails and hair’s health.
If you think you need vitamin C, you can opt-in for citrus fruits like lemons and oranges. Other sources of the said vitamin also include but are not limited to red chili peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, kale, red capsicums, and dark leafy vegetables. If you think you need more vitamin B7, it is good to consume bananas, cauliflower, broccoli, and spinach.
Fatigue and Having Low Energy
Fatigue may be a result of not having vitamins and minerals inside your body through fruits and vegetables. If not, it is a cause of consuming too many highly processed foods, such as products containing too many simple sugars and sodium. More specifically, such a bad habit makes your body do too much extra work, thus resulting in lower energy and fatigue.
Consuming the right amount of folate (Folic acid) often solves this problem. You can have it from foods like black-eyed peas, lentils, asparagus, legumes, and green leafy vegetables. Different types of beans are also a good source of folates such as navy, kidney, and lima beans.
Muscle Cramps and Impaired Vision
Everyone may experience muscle cramps. However, it should not be consistently persistent. Otherwise, you may be suffering from a potassium deficiency. An amount of potassium is important for the muscles of your body as it helps in maintaining a smooth muscle contraction.
Your vision may also get affected, which usually manifests during nighttime. This is usually the result of vitamin A deficiency. The worse thing is it can cause certain eye conditions like dry eyes and retinal damage.
There are different sources of potassium and the most popular are bananas. The potassium content of a medium banana is roughly 422 mg. Other sources include but are not limited to sweet potatoes, swiss chard, spinach, and Green leafy vegetables. Meanwhile, some good sources of vitamin A include dark leafy green vegetables and yellow and orange-hued vegetables.
Constipation or Irregular Bowel Movements and Gaining Weight
In regards to constipation like irregular bowel movements, the primary consideration is the amount of fiber present in your body. Fiber helps add bulk into humans’ waste, so if you have a hard time defecating, you should try eating fruits and vegetables that are rich in fiber.
Many suggest that people should consume at least 18g of fiber up to 25g, and the good news is foods rich in fiber are not difficult to find. Some foods you can include with your meals are beetroot, raspberries, Swiss chard, artichokes, carrots, bananas, guava, apples, and mango. Eating beans and peas, oat bran, lentils, barley, and seeds may also help.
Having a Low Mood and Feeling Stressed
While it is true that environmental temperamental, and heredity are factors affecting a person to develop certain mental illnesses like anxiety and depression, your diet may also increase your risk of suffering from such conditions. Likewise, diets involving too many carbohydrates, fats, and processed foods result in the sudden bursting of energy, and the crashing of energy follows. If you think that your life is okay but you still feel so low and stressed out, try adjusting your diet.
Fruits and vegetables are undoubtingly rich in vitamins and minerals. These foods’ components may reduce the production of stress hormones, leading to a more stable mood and emotional balance. Having this kind of diet also promotes sustained and maintained healthy energy levels.
Magnesium is one of the most important chemicals inside our bodies. Too much or too little of it will make your body suffer. For instance, low magnesium or magnesium deficiency is related to having anxiety and high-stress levels. However, they may affect each other.
It means that magnesium depletion can be the result of stress. At the same time, magnesium deficiency aggravates stress hormones. Therefore, if you are so stressed, it is recommended to take certain foods like spinach and other leafy greens.
Final Thought
Lindsey Desoto, a registered nutritionist, makes a point in her piece that having a diet with fruits and vegetables is important, but almost never get the right combination and amount of such foods. Thus, many are suffering from the consequences mentioned above. SO, if you notice some of these signs, reexamine your diet.
