The “Important” Reasons Why Vegetables are Necessary
It’s simple: your body needs vegetables and all of the nutrients that they provide. Everyone knows this, but does everyone know the exact reasons why? Vegetables do reduce the risk for heart disease, certain cancers, as well as help regulate a healthy blood pressure, but what about for those who are already healthy? What about the young adults and kids who exercise every day and don’t have any health issues to worry about? If refraining from diseases doesn’t convince you to eat your vegetables, then maybe there are some reasons that will do the trick.
Weight Management – On average, a cup of vegetables is about 50 calories. This means it would take six cups of vegetables to be equivalent to eating one slice of cheese pizza. Eating six cups of anything would be extremely hard for anyone to do, which is why vegetables are the perfect food for anyone looking to stay thin or lose weight.
Increase in Energy Level- Vegetables are extremely rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C is vital in restoring health and maintaining the body. Without it, peoples’ energy levels would drop until their body begins to decay. There are vitamin supplements people can take, but vegetables contain thousands of phytochemicals and fiber that promote good health and cannot be replicated by a simple pill. Pills are good to fill in the nutrient gaps, but should not be taken in place of vegetables.
Fiber- Fiber helps move food through the digestive tract. Without the necessary amount of fiber, the body will develop irregularity and will become sluggish. Fiber cleanses the digestive tract and 20-35 grams should be consumed daily. However, the average American consumes only 10-15 grams. Since fiber is a source that only comes from plants, vegetables are extremely rich in this nutrient. Most powdered fiber supplements contain about 3 grams of fiber in its serving. This means you would need to be sprinkling fiber on your food all day long and this will get very expensive. Furthermore, with all supplements, there are always side effects. Eating vegetables or any other plant is the best way to get your nutritional need of fiber in a healthy way.
Other food groups are important such as meat and wheat. However, vegetables are one of the cleanest foods out there. Unprocessed and rich in nutrients; vegetables are essential for anyone looking to maintain an active lifestyle. Next time you’re feeling tired and sluggish, reach for some vegetables to revamp your energy.
Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions please feel free to comment or contact me.
-Michael Roulic
Simplifying Outdoor Workouts
Spring is here… and even better, the warm weather has finally come! I’m sure I’m not the only one looking to get in a good outdoor workout. If you’re choosing to stick to the gym instead of getting in exercise outside, this might sway your opinion:
- Running and biking outdoors is healthier for ankles and muscle growth (Especially through running incline/decline.)
- Psychology test subjects scored significantly higher on measures of vitality after working out outdoors compared to in a gym environment.
- Studies suggest outdoor workouts encourage more activity and people exercise longer.
- You can get a tan while feeling productive instead of lying by the pool!
Many people go on jogs to exercise outside. However, there are many exercises everyone is missing out on. To start, if you stick to running around the block or on the track, try to at least vary it. Running incline and decline on hills works on an entire new group of muscles. Even so, running shouldn’t be the only thing you are doing in your outdoor workout.
Great workouts include exercising activities such as swimming, biking, or playing any sports. However, if you’re looking for a great, set workout routine, here are some ideas:
- Change your running workout into a circuit workout by running a set time, then doing an exercise. For example, run two minutes then do an ab exercise or pushups. Great fill-in exercises include: lunges, jump squats, variety of pushups, planks, ab exercises
- Jumping rope, kettlebells (weights), and more indoor exercises can be done just the same outside.
- Sprint circuits: sprint, then jog. Changing paces will keep the body guessing, while promoting muscle growth and boosting the metabolic rate.
Preferably, outdoor circuit routines are my favorite, because they can work all muscle groups while working the cardiovascular system. It is very important for everyone to find their own niche while working out. Some people prefer running, while some prefer biking, and others lifting weights. Stick to what you like best, and you’re guaranteed to succeed and find results you like. Plus try to find a way to incorporate the exercises you like into an outdoor workout. The new atmosphere can really help boost your performance, and getting fresh air can be really relieving.
For those interested in seeing what an outdoor circuit routine would look like, here is an example:
Warmup with a light job then dynamic stretching (https://mroulic.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/why-stretching-is-important-to-anyone/)
10 burpess
20 yard sprint
20 pushups
20 yard sprint
10 v-ups
20 yard sprint
10 lunges
20 yard sprint
1 lap (400 meter) jog
Repeat 3 times
Thank you for reading and if you have any questions or comments, please contact me.
-Michael Roulic
Health Expo 
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