No vegetable exists actually, yet you should still consume them. Here's why.

Vegetables lack a technical botanical definition. Instead, these edible plant parts are categorized as roots, stems, leaves, and flowers.

, and Hanna Hofmann

2024 May 5 . 9:09 AM

2 min read

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No vegetable exists actually, yet you should still consume them. Here's why.

The concept of what fruit is and what vegetable is can be confusing. According to botanical definition, fruit refers to anything with seeds or multiple seeds in it, while vegetables are more like a broader term for various types of edible plants.

For instance, carrots and beets are actually the roots of plants, while lettuce and spinach are the leaves, and items like celery and asparagus are the stems. Even foods that grow from flowers, such as peppers and tomatoes, are considered fruits due to their anatomical structure. Other examples of fruits are cucumbers, squash, eggplant, and avocados.

In the realm of horticulture, however, "vegetable" is a more specific definition. A vegetable is recognized as an herbaceous plant, meaning a plant that completes its life cycle in a growing season and is consumed as a part of a meal, usually without being baked or cooked like a dessert, with the notable exception being tomatoes, which were once a subject of legal debate. A vegetable is not poisonous and is safe for consumption, as opposed to, say, rhubarb, whose leaves are toxic, but whose stalk is entirely edible.

Eating a variety of vegetables can benefit your health in many ways. A head of broccoli, for example, is packed with beneficial nutrients, but the often discarded stem is also a great source of fiber and nutrients. Additionally, eating vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, which are considered reproductive organs of the plant, may help reduce the risk of cancer.

Dietitian and professor Sherri Stastny emphasizes the importance of having a diverse range of vegetables in one's diet because each one offers different nutrients. Dark leafy greens, like spinach and kale, are great sources of specific phytonutrients that enhance vision, while carrots can aid in developing strong night vision. Potassium-rich veggies and fruits, like potatoes, pumpkins, and squash, can help regulate blood pressure.

It's worth mentioning that the term "vegetable" can be ambiguous as it doesn't have a set definition in botany. However, in horticulture, it refers to any fleshy plant that is consumed as a part of a meal instead of a snack or dessert, which was determined in a 19th-century Supreme Court case when the tomato was deemed a vegetable in the US.

So, we know that vegetables are crucial. They're healthy, and we know their nutrient content. They're also safe to eat, whether you're growing them at home or purchasing them from the farmers market or grocery store. By understanding the parts of vegetables and learning about their nutrients, we can make more informed choices about our own diets and prioritize consuming a variety of nutrient-dense foods for overall wellbeing.

One helpful way to get children to enjoy their fruits and vegetables is by breaking down the plant's anatomy to make it more engaging and informative. This will help in establishing a taste for nutritious foods from a young age, reducing the risk of chronic diseases later in life.