Making the Most of Your Holiday Vegetables: From Minerals to Vitamins

Tuesday - November 21 2023, 07:10 UTC - 1 year ago

Vegetables are rich sources of micronutrients like minerals, water-soluble vitamins and fat-soluble vitamins. Greens like collard greens, kale and spinach are rich sources of calcium, magnesium and iron, whereas orange vegetables like carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and squash are full of betacarotene, vitamin C, and potassium. White potatoes have high levels of vitamin B6 and vitamin K can be found in potatoes and green vegetables.

While people usually think first about the turkey or the ham during holiday meals, the sides are what help balance your plate. Colorful vegetables like green beans, collard greens, roasted carrots and mashed sweet potatoes are loaded with important micronutrients. But how you prepare them will help determine whether you get the most nutritional value out of each bite this holiday season.

As a biochemist, I know that food is made up of many chemical substances that are crucial for human growth and function. These chemical substances are called nutrients and can be divided into macronutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats and proteins, and micronutrients, such as vitamins and minerals.

Vegetables are full of micronutrients that human bodies need for metabolism – or converting food into energy – as well as to form and maintain cells and tissues. These micronutrients can be classified into three types: minerals, water-soluble vitamins and fat-soluble vitamins.

Minerals .

The greens – collard greens, kale, spinach, green beans – on your table are rich sources of the elements magnesium and calcium. Your body needs these two major minerals for muscle movement and bone health.

Magnesium is essential for many of the enzymes that play important roles in DNA synthesis and repair, as well as protein production and metabolic function. The cellular processes, especially accurate DNA synthesis, are important in protecting your body from developing diseases such as cancer. Calcium helps regulate the pH in your body, influences your metabolism and strengthens your nerve impulses. Nerve impulses are important for your senses and your memory.

Greens are also a source of iron – you were right, Popeye! – which is particularly important for the oxygen-binding proteins hemoglobin and myoglobin that transfer and store oxygen in your body, respectively. In addition, human bodies require iron for processes that help generate energy, protect against oxidative damage and make hormones.

Orange vegetables – carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and squash – contain some levels of calcium and iron as well as high levels of potassium. Potassium is important for muscle movement, nerve impulses and maintaining low blood pressure. Although not a colorful vegetable, white potatoes also contain very high levels of potassium.

Water-soluble vitamins .

Most green and orange vegetables contain high levels of vitamin C. Vitamin C is an important water-soluble vitamin because it acts as an antioxidant. Antioxidants protect your cells against certain types of damage caused by very reactive molecules known as free radicals.

In addition, vitamin C can enhance immune response and is essential for the synthesis of collagen – the major protein in your skin. Although taking large levels of vitamin C will not keep you from ever getting sick, a healthy amount can help your skin stay soft, help you avoid diseases like scurvy and potentially shorten the length of a cold.

The white potatoes on the table have high levels of vitamin B6, which is a component of enzymes essential for carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism. It also helps create healthy blood cells an antibodies.

Fat-soluble vitamins .

The orange vegetables – carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, squash – are full of betacarotene. Whenever your body needs to produce vitamin A, betacarotene can serve as a precursor. Vitamin A is important for cell growth and division, vision, blood cell development, growth and differentiation of tissues, cancer prevention and immune response.

Vitamin K is essential for blood coagulation and bone metabolism. It is found in green vegetables and potatoes of all colors.