There are plenty of health benefits from eating a diet full of different fruits and vegetables. Not only do fruits and vegetables provide plenty of essential vitamins, minerals, and fibre, but they reduce your chances of health issues such as heart disease, stroke and various forms of cancer.
Why do we need to eat more fruits and vegetables?
- They are an incredible source of vitamins and minerals vital to our bodies’ correct functioning. For example, folate, potassium, and vitamin C.
- They provide plenty of dietary fibre. Fibre is essential to good gut health, helping prevent constipation and other digestion issues, as well as reducing your risk of bowel cancer.
- They have been proven to help reduce your risk of heart disease, various cancers, and stroke.
- They are typically low in calories, so will help you maintain a healthy weight and heart.
Why are more people turning to plant-based diets?
Not only is a plant-based diet brilliant for your health, but great for the environment as well! As more people become aware of the harmful environmental effects and ethical issues surrounding meat and dairy farming, our society’s effort to reduce the amount of meat we eat and switch to a more plant-powered diet is growing. This has led to popular movements such as ‘Meat Free Monday’ and ‘Veganuary’, where people dedicate certain days, weeks, or months to giving up meat.
Whether you’re considering trying out vegetarianism/veganism or are just looking to reduce the amount of meat you eat, there are plenty of ways to shift towards a plant-based diet! While eating more fruits and vegetables may seem like a challenge, once you start thinking about the different ways you can sneak them in throughout the day, it becomes easy.
Tips for eating more fruits & vegetables
- Top your bowl of cereal, porridge or yoghurt with a handful of fruit, such as some sliced bananas or berries.
- Make a delicious and healthy fruit and vegetable-based smoothie.
- Make an omelette or some scrambled eggs with chopped tomato, mushrooms and avocado (take a look at our new David Lloyd Clubs spring/summer menu for some eggy inspiration!)
- Never going to desert your mid-day sandwich? Give it a healthy boost by keeping it vegetables and adding lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, grated carrots, or anything else that takes your fancy.
- Try making a filling salad packed with vegetables. The opportunities here are endless, but one of our favourites is a bed of roast vegetables including butternut, sweet potato, peppers and broccoli, topped with fresh spinach, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, a sprinkle of seeds and some sliced avo.
- Try the vegetable version of classic dishes such as lasagne and burgers. You’ll be surprised by how tasty they are, as well as by how much better you feel afterwards.
Follow these easy tips and you’ll see your fruit and vegetable intake increase in no time, along with the accompanying health benefits.
If you’re looking for healthy inspiration for vegetable packed meals, we have a number of easy-to-follow, delicious and nutritious recipe videos on the David Lloyd Club blog. Or to discover more about your food and drink options at David Lloyd Clubs or to view our menu online, visit davidlloyd.co.uk/food.
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