A recent study has revealed that Americans don’t eat anywhere near enough of them to promote good health.
If you want a lean, muscular physique that’s full of energy, you’ve got to consume a lot more than the average person.
In fact, a high intake can actually accelerate the muscle-growth and fat-loss process and help you reach your physique goals faster.
What the heck am I talking about?
I’m talking about natures’ wonder food; vegetables.
Good ol’ vegetables. The stuff that mom always told you to eat, and you probably always hated.
Nonetheless, if you want to build a lean, strong, muscular physique that excels in athletic performance, you’ve got to make vegetables a top priority.
Love ‘em or hate ‘em if you want to obtain any type of decent results from all of those jaw-clenched, teeth-grinding, sweat-soaked hours in the gym, vegetables have to be a BIG part of your nutritional strategy. If you’re not a fan of them I hope that by the time you’ve read this article, you will have changed your perception completely.
Vegetable Science
The science of optimum nutrition for any sport, bodybuilding or other, is to build a premium body – a perfect machine of pristine health that excels in athletic performance. A key aspect of optimum nutrition is food choice. In this regard, many bodybuilders fail to understand the importance of consuming a variety of nutritious whole foods in their diet. They restrict their healthy food choices to chicken breasts, white rice and green beans. If you are one of these people, then you are probably short-circuiting your own progress.
The foundation of optimum nutrition is to enhance biological functions at the cellular level. This can only be achieved via a synergistic interaction from an array of nutrients. Therefore, optimum results can only be achieved by incorporating a variety of foods.
Thanks to modern-day agriculture, we have easy access to an abundant variety of vegetables that provide an entire spectrum of nutrients. Many of these nutrients are vital to achieving optimum health and we cannot get them from any other food or supplement. This is one reason why vegetables will always form the cornerstone of a great eating plan.
Most people understand about the importance of a high fiber diet for keeping “regular”. Vegetables are by far, the best choice. However, the health benefits of a high-fiber diet from a high intake of vegetables go way beyond the morning shuffle to the can.
Firstly, the naturally occurring fiber in vegetables help to “clean” your artery walls by reducing bad cholesterol levels. Getting more vegetables into your diet will change your blood cholesterol profile for the better and help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
From a bodybuilding perspective, a high intake of vegetables each day will keep your muscles in an anabolic state but also lock your metabolism permanently into fat-burning mode.
Veggie Magic – no smoke and mirrors here
A high intake of vegetables ensures better fat loss via a number of mechanisms. Firstly, they provide “bulk” to the diet but contribute very few calories. Due to their high-bulk yet low-energy content, vegetables force the body to burn more energy during processing of meals and “tricks” the metabolism into staying elevated during times of calorie restriction.
A high intake of vegetables also promotes fat loss by increasing satiety (the feeling of fullness from eating less food). It’s a strategy that makes sticking to a calorie-controlled diet much easier. Not many people realize a large plate piled high with a variety of colorful vegetables contains less than 300 calories, and I guarantee most people couldn’t finish this plate!
Finally, a high vegetable intake promotes fat loss by keeping blood sugar and insulin concentrations nice ‘n’ steady. The maintenance of blood glucose levels means no energy slump during the day. Steady insulin levels throughout the day have many positives for bodybuilders; fat metabolism remains interrupted, nutrient transport into muscle is optimized and the all-important growth factors (such as IGF-1) remain active in circulation. These are all aspects that add up to a bigger, leaner physique.
The true magic of vegetables becomes evident during the latter stages of a dieting phase. That is, as calorie restriction becomes tighter, you can (and should) eat more of them. This strategy of eating more food during a diet, keeps hunger pangs a bay and ensures the metabolism stays elevated. Gradually increasing your vegetable intake during contest prep’ is a much overlooked secret to walking on stage with a rock-hard, muscular physique.
Which vegetables are best?
Athletes often stick to consuming the same one or two types of vegetables and miss out on the nutritional benefits that a variety can provide.
Different vegetables provide different essential nutrients. When in doubt about selection, go for color. The brighter and richer the color, the more nutritious the vegetable is.
The vegetables with the highest nutritional value are dark green, bright yellow, red and orange(such as squash, sweet potato, carrots, and pumpkin). Also, the cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli and cauliflower) contain a multitude of nutrients that protect our DNA against oxidative damage that cause disease.
Most bodybuilders know that building a premium body involves precision nutritional supplementation. However, as cutting edge as supplements have become, they pale in comparison to the complexity of whole foods. The truth is that science is only just starting to uncover an array of powerful, yet little known compounds that occur naturally in vegetables. If you want a single digit body fat percentage then a high intake of vegetables is essential.
