Why don't we eat our vegetables?

Mostly because of our taste palates and differing sensitivities to sweetness and bitterness.

We all have different tastebud patterns and sensitivities on our tongues just as our fingerprints differ.

Sweet wins over bitter every time. The choice is clear.

We are hard wired for sweetness for survival because sugar provides the quickest energy particularly for our primal fight or flight reactions. When our diet is high in sugar as in our American often from packaged foods with added sugars, taste buds dull and can't detect the lower levels of sweetness in vegetables which require more taste sensitivity.

Foods that are a little bitter to one can be very bitter to another. Bitterness in nature is a signal of what not to eat too much of so it stops us by tasting badly. However, the bitterness balances the sweetness when consumed in healthful proportions in whole foods. The bitter compounds inhibit the overgrowth of certain cells which is why some bitter foods are desirable to ward off cancer cells.

The fibrous texture of many vegetables is not very appealing compared to other foods that are easier to chew and are smooth textured. Yet, fiber is what is lacking in many of our diets as we alter the palatability of whole foods. Whether prepared in home, a restaurant or purchased in a grocery in a package altering a whole food to increase its appeal is altering the healthfulness of the whole food. There is no way to reconstruct a food to be as healthful as in its original form.

Some manage to drink veggies on the go often masked with sweet juices but unfortunately, this adds sugar which we don't need and macerates the soluble fiber that ultimately speeds sugar into the bloodstream.

We need enough vegetables for our bodies to function well. We don't need or want megadoses of micronutrients which have toxicity symptoms.  We are looking for the balance that whole foods give us.

As an entry point to changing tastes and behaviors, price and convenience are key. Put both great price and convenience together with a great taste and you have success. If any one of these items are missing, it's an uphill battle.

So let's make veggies affordable, accessible, easy to eat and add a dip made from beans or yogurt to add flavor.  Add a savory flavor - fat and protein added to the snack or meal instead of eating alone or with fruits which add more sugar works well. Cook them in a soup to soften their texture but retain the fiber. Stuff them raw or baked. Use vegetables to make a wrap such as lettuce wraps or cucumber wraps. Share some recipes in the comments.

Don't compare vegetables to other foods. Love them at their best for what they offer naturally!

Why don't we eat our vegetables?

Mostly because of our taste palates and differing sensitivities to sweetness and bitterness.

We all have different tastebud patterns and sensitivities on our tongues just as our fingerprints differ.

Sweet wins over bitter every time. The choice is clear.

We are hard wired for sweetness for survival because sugar provides the quickest energy particularly for our primal fight or flight reactions. When our diet is high in sugar as in our American often from packaged foods with added sugars, taste buds dull and can't detect the lower levels of sweetness in vegetables which require more taste sensitivity.

Foods that are a little bitter to one can be very bitter to another. Bitterness in nature is a signal of what not to eat too much of so it stops us by tasting badly. However, the bitterness balances the sweetness when consumed in healthful proportions in whole foods. The bitter compounds inhibit the overgrowth of certain cells which is why some bitter foods are desirable to ward off cancer cells.

The fibrous texture of many vegetables is not very appealing compared to other foods that are easier to chew and are smooth textured. Yet, fiber is what is lacking in many of our diets as we alter the palatability of whole foods. Whether prepared in home, a restaurant or purchased in a grocery in a package altering a whole food to increase its appeal is altering the healthfulness of the whole food. There is no way to reconstruct a food to be as healthful as in its original form.

Some manage to drink veggies on the go often masked with sweet juices but unfortunately, this adds sugar which we don't need and macerates the soluble fiber that ultimately speeds sugar into the bloodstream.

We need enough vegetables for our bodies to function well. We don't need or want megadoses of micronutrients which have toxicity symptoms.  We are looking for the balance that whole foods give us.

As an entry point to changing tastes and behaviors, price and convenience are key. Put both great price and convenience together with a great taste and you have success. If any one of these items are missing, it's an uphill battle.

So let's make veggies affordable, accessible, easy to eat and add a dip made from beans or yogurt to add flavor.  Add a savory flavor - fat and protein added to the snack or meal instead of eating alone or with fruits which add more sugar works well. Cook them in a soup to soften their texture but retain the fiber. Stuff them raw or baked. Use vegetables to make a wrap such as lettuce wraps or cucumber wraps. Share some recipes in the comments.

Don't compare vegetables to other foods. Love them at their best for what they offer naturally!

The Skinny on Fat

Fat is essential in our diet so the no fat trend never made much sense to me. The wisdom for at least the past 50 years to get the essential fat needed is for 30% of your calories to come from fat in your diet (10% unsaturated, 10% polyunsaturated, and 10% saturated). Practically speaking, this means that if an oil is liquid at room temperature, like olive oil, it can be considered mostly unsaturated and if it's solid, like butter or the fat in meat, it can be considered mostly saturated. Fats in foods are a combination of fats that are unsaturated and saturated to different extents. Since fats that are the most saturated are hardest at room temperature, it's easy to know how to get a range in your diet by looking at your food. Just stay away from any packaged foods that have trans fats on the label or are those listed at partially hydrogenated which is the chemical process of saturating a fat to stabilize it for a longer shelf  life, to change the texture or some functional property. Over the next few years (by 2018) these trans fats will be eliminated from all products.

Since the average American diet was traditionally high in meat and cheese (both containing fat solid at room temperature), the government's message from the 80's until recently has been to eat a low fat diet. The erroneous assumption was that fat in food eaten resulted in more solid fat blocking our arteries and everywhere else we don't want it to be. That seemed counter intuitive to me for several reasons. First, body temperature is much higher than room temperature by at least 20 degrees. Second, the body digests fat and has its own regulation system so the amount of body fat stored is regulated by other than the fat amount consumed.

A few more facts to know about the fat we consume are key to understand. Fat has more than twice the calories of either protein or carbohydrates for each gram consumed. Therefore, to eat the 30% of calories as fat, you will consume less than half the amount of a carbohydrate, such as a potato, by weight. The latest "eat more fat" advocates make several assumptions which may or may not apply to your own diet. For starters, they assume that you are currently eating a very low fat diet (much lower than 30%) and a high carbohydrate diet (with a high sugar content). If you were buying lots of no fat and low fat products and we're still eating the same amount of food, you were likely eating a higher carbohydrate diet. They also assume when you do consume 30 or even 40% of your calories as fat in your diet you will be full and won't want to eat more fat or for that matter anything else. That would be great, but people overeat all the time and if they hear the titles of the books as permission to as eat as much fat as they want as the way to get thin, I expect that obesity in this country will continue as people start eating many more calories as a result of increasing fat in their diet.

The best diet is one that is varied and balanced. Eat whole foods you enjoy with others when possible, pay attention to when you are hungry or feel full and most of all, relax. You know when you feel good and how to eat well so listen well to your body. Only then will you get the answers that are right for you.