5 ways to maximize the nutrients from vegetables

We all know vegetables are good for us, but getting the 5-10 servings a day can be a challenge. Here are just a few ways to get the most nutrition from your vegetables.

• Five to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables are recommended daily.
• A serving is 1/2 cup of vegetables (raw or cooked), one cup of leafy salad vegetables or 1/2 cup of juice.
• Nutritionists recommend choosing a variety of vegetables.
• Eat richly-coloured vegetables, vegetables from the cruciferous family and allium vegetables, like onion and garlic.

• Most vegetables are excellent sources of vitamins, fibre, folate, potassium and other minerals.
• They're also rich in phytochemicals, which can offer protection from disease.
• Vegetables are low in fat and usually low in calories.
• In addition to antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, vegetables are teeming with the disease-fighting compounds known as phytochemicals.

• Colour is a useful guide to the vitamin content of vegetables.
• The larger and darker the leaves are, the more vitamin C and beta-carotene they contain.
• With lettuce and cabbage, try to use the darker, outer leaves over the pale ones inside. The pale leaves have only about three percent of the carotene found in the darker leaves.
• Deep yellow, orange or dark green veg­etables derive their colour from carotenoid ­pigments.
• These include beta-carotene, an anti­oxidant that's converted to vitamin A in the intestinal wall.
• Because these pigments are ­stable in cooking and soluble in fat, the nutritional content is well preserved during baking or boiling.

• Soluble and insoluble fibre in vegetables keeps bowel function regular. This reduces the colon's exposure to potentially toxic by-products of digestion.
• In some people, however, fibre can cause gas and bloating.

• The leaves of all vegetables are factories for the production of high-energy sugars through photosynthesis.
• Vegetables with dark green leaves, including members of the cabbage family, are rich in antioxidants, bioflavonoids and B vitamins.
• The leaves of plants in the onion family have grown into fleshy bulbs that store carbohydrates and water to nourish the plant during its next year of growth.

• Root vegetables are food storage organs and valuable sources of carbohydrates.
• Stems, such as celery and fennel, conduct nutrients between roots and leaves. In some plants, such as potatoes, underground stems have evolved into storehouses for starch.
• The flowers of some plants can also be eaten. Broccoli stems are eaten with their unopened flower buds and the flowers of zucchini are a delicacy.
• After cooking vegetables, use the water for stock. Some vitamins are water-soluble and are leached out into the cooking water.

Getting your daily serving of vegetables can be tricky. Try to look for vegetables that have high levels of nutrients, and consume a variety of different kinds. This not only changes up the flavours, it can provide you with different kinds of vitamins and nutrients.