Children are always told to eat their fruits and vegetables so that they can grow up healthy and strong. Moms go out of their way trying to find ways to creatively incorporate these nutrition essentials into meals, sometims even shaping them into fun smiley faces to look more appealing. While some kids grow out of their veggie-hating phases and grow up to be health concious adults, there are still many of us who need a little more convincing when it comes to vegetables.

Truth is, like it or not, vegetables are incredibly good for us. We’ll give you seven reasons why:

Vitamins and Nutrients

Different vegetables play different roles in helping your organs function correctly and prevent disease by providing us with a variety of vitamins and nutrients. Even for those of us who take a daily multivitamin, vegetables provide much more benefits than any vitamin could provide.

Potassium

According to ChooseMyPlate.gov, “Eating vegetables and fruits rich in potassium as part of an overall healthy diet may lower blood pressure, and may also reduce the risk of developing kidney stones and help to decrease bone loss.” Vegetables high in potassium include white beans, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, kidney beans, lentils, lima beans, spinach, soybeans, beet greens and tomato products.

Fiber

Vegetables high in fiber not only help reduce blood pressure but also help maintain proper bowel movements and prevent constipation. As Choose My Plate explains, “Dietary fiber from vegetables, as part of an overall healthy diet, helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower risk of heart disease. Fiber is important for proper bowel function. It helps reduce constipation and diverticulosis. Fiber-containing foods such as vegetables help provide a feeling of fullness with fewer calories.” Excellent sources of fiber include a variety of beans such as black beans, and kidney beans, as well as chick peas, split peas, lentils and artichokes.

Folate

For those who are pregnant or looking to get pregnant, folate, which can be found in vegetables like asparagus, cooked spinach and black eyed peas, help get your body ready for pregnancy. Proper amounts of folate in the body can aso help prevent certain diseases during fetus formation, including spinal cord problems, spina bifida and anencephaly.

Calcium

Calcium, found in kale, chinese cabbage and broccoli, is an important part of a healthy diet as it helps keep your bones strong. According to the Office of Dietary Supplements,“The body also needs calcium for muscles to move and for nerves to carry messages between the brain and every body part. In addition, calcium is used to help blood vessels move blood throughout the body and to help release hormones and enzymes that affect almost every function in the human body.”

The amount of calcium needed according to age may vary. For instance, newborns to 6 month old babies need around 200mg, infants 7-12 months need 260mg, children 1-3 years old need 700mg, children 4-8 years old need 1,000mg, children 9-13 years old as well as teenagers (14-18) need 1,300mg, adults 19 to 50 years old need 1,000. Past the age of 50, men need 1,000mg a day and women 1,200mg a day.

Learn more about proper calcium intake here: http://ods.od.nih.gov.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is essential in keeping your eyes and skin healthy, and also helps prevent diseases. A recent article published on HowStuffWorks.com noted that vitamin A is known to help in fighting cancer since it prevents the production of DNA in cancerous cells. For those who suffer from cancer, this vitamin helps by slowing down the growth process of tumors, and prevents Leukemia cells from multiplying.

The article also said, “Stroke victims who have high levels of vitamin A in their systems are less likely to die or suffer disabilities from the stroke. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is a good defense against stroke and its complications.”

Vitamin C

Vitamin C found in most citrus products such as oranges, limes and lemons helps the body in healing itself from wounds and cuts, as well as helps in maintaining healthy teeth and gums.

According to the Office of Dietary Supplements, vitamin C may help prevent cancer by “limit[ing] the formation of carcinogens, such as nitrosamines, in vivo; modulate immune response ; and, through its antioxidant function, possibly attenuate oxidative damage that can lead to cancer. Most case-control studies have found an inverse association between dietary vitamin C intake and cancers of the lung, breast, colon or rectum, stomach, oral cavity, larynx or pharynx, and esophagus.”

It also helps prevent heart disease as well as treat the common cold.

Learn to Love Your Veggies

Whether you are trying to prevent illness or help improve your health, vegetables are a very important part of any diet. They contain many vitamins and nutrients help fight illness and help prevent dangerous conditions such as heart disease, cancer and stroke. Having a healthy diet rich in vegetables will improve your quality of life and keep you feeling great.