Excessive consumption of vegetables can lead to weight gain
Do not overeat vegetables for weight loss. Although vegetables contain a large amount of dietary fiber, some vegetables lack many vitamins.
Dietary Fiber: A Nutrient for Weight Loss
Dietary fiber is mainly derived from vegetables, fruits, and some coarse grains. It was not valued in the past, but in recent years, with deeper research, it has been hailed as the seventh nutrient. Many vegetables contain both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber.
Dietary fiber from various sources can inhibit the activity of pancreatic enzymes, reducing the digestibility of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in food by digestive enzymes.
At the same time, soluble dietary fiber has strong water-holding capacity. It can form a viscous solution in the gastrointestinal tract, increasing the viscosity of chyme and slowing down the rate of gastric emptying. This reduces the contact between digestive enzymes and chyme, affecting the digestion and absorption of nutrients in the intestines, which is equivalent to eating more and absorbing less. This is a function many people dream of during the weight loss process.
The dietary fiber in vegetables can lower cholesterol, with soluble fiber having a significant effect. In the intestines, dietary fiber can bind with bile acids, promoting their excretion in feces and thereby lowering blood cholesterol.
The water-holding capacity of dietary fiber can increase the viscosity of intestinal chyme and slow down the transport rate of monosaccharides and neutral amino acids in the small intestine. This can improve glucose tolerance and has a certain positive effect on weight loss for obese patients with high blood sugar and high blood lipids.
Vitamins: Helpers in Metabolizing Calories
The goal of weight loss is to reduce excess body fat. Once formed, body fat can only be consumed by converting it into energy. In the process of energy metabolism, vitamins B1, B2, B6, and niacin play very important roles. A deficiency of these vitamins can hinder the smooth progress of energy metabolism.
Vitamin B1 is mainly found in less-processed grains, legumes, and nuts. Vitamin B2 is mainly found in dairy products, eggs, and various meats, and is also abundant in vegetables such as mushrooms, straw mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, daylilies, eggplant, broccoli, shepherd's purse, kelp, celery leaves, and spinach. Niacin is also very abundant in vegetables and fruits, especially in mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, daylilies, and beans such as fava beans, cowpeas, sword beans, and edamame.
It should be noted that although vegetables are nutritious, eating more is not necessarily better. The dietary fiber in vegetables can affect the absorption of nutrients such as calcium, iron, and zinc.
Therefore, the Chinese Nutrition Society recommends that we consume only 500-750 grams of vegetables and fruits daily.