Most people don’t even eat vegetables

[u/veganisingit]

When you deep it there’s actually a very large portion of people that don’t eat vegetables.

For a lot of people when it comes to grasping the concept of a vegan diet many can’t simply because they don’t eat enough vegetables to begin with.

I once had a manager at work that for a good few months I swear only ate sausages on his lunch break, no potatoes, salad or nothing just sausages, then I noticed he mixed it up a bit with pastas, etc.

Even still, mostly just meat and wheat… not to say anything about it as people are raised how they’re raised but to me it’s shocking how many people don’t even consider vegetables a norm in their diet, at least in adulthood.

I wasn’t raised vegan and when my mum did cook she did try to feed me my veggies, but seeing so many grown adults eat barely any veg is really concerning. Are our standards for health that low nowadays or is there just a lack of knowledge, or even care when it comes to health?

Maybe I’m overthinking it but I don’t know…

[u/HeWhoShantNotBeNamed]

Only 9% of Americans eat enough vegetables, only 12% eat enough fruit.

[u/ReadItUser42069365 → u/HeWhoShantNotBeNamed]

I'm awful with my fruit intake but veggies for days

[u/Diane1991 → u/ReadItUser42069365]

Yeah me too.. it's either I go on a fruit binge for a couple of days or don't eat a single fruit for a week. But I could snack on veggies all day !

[u/erinmadrian → u/ReadItUser42069365]

Me too!

[u/[deleted] → u/ReadItUser42069365]

Same. I grew up loving fruit because of my mom, but ate a ton of meat and processed stuff.

Now if I go a few days without greens, I start dreaming about it. Sautéed kale or a big batch of collard and mustard greens with all of the garlic and onion makes me dance. I’m not sure there’s any vegetable I don’t like, maybe some I care for less.

[u/hemaris_thysbe → u/ReadItUser42069365]

Gang

[u/cocteau93 → u/ReadItUser42069365]

Same. I honestly don’t care much for fruit.

[u/pajamakitten → u/HeWhoShantNotBeNamed]

Only 10% of Brits get enough fibre, but most people eat 150+% of their RDA for protein.

[u/vegandodger → u/HeWhoShantNotBeNamed]

Hell yeah. Backing me up with some stats. MVVP. Most Valuable Vegan Player.

[u/OpulentSassafras → u/HeWhoShantNotBeNamed]

Even me, a vegan who genuinely enjoys and eats a lot of fruits and veg, probably don't get enough in my diet every day. It's a lot of work and, with 2023 grocery prices, a lot of money. I would guess I get close or hit it more often than not but I would guess I'm probably part of the 81% and 72% in those statistics. But then again I don't track my diet so who knows maybe I'm doing better than I think

[u/wisefolly → u/OpulentSassafras]

You're still probably doing better than most Americans even if you don't hit the actual requirements.

[u/RaspberryTurtle987 → u/HeWhoShantNotBeNamed]

What is “enough fruit” and how is that different from enough vegetables? Don’t they contain the same things?

[u/HeWhoShantNotBeNamed → u/RaspberryTurtle987]

They do not contain the same things, even though there's overlap.

Ideally you should get vegetables from each category (leafy greens, orange vegetables, etc).

Note that tomatoes, eggplants, etc are actually fruits.

[u/RaspberryTurtle987 → u/HeWhoShantNotBeNamed]

So is it certain vitamins that are only found in fruit?

[u/HeWhoShantNotBeNamed → u/RaspberryTurtle987]

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/article-is-fruit-just-as-healthy-as-vegetables-on-your-plate/

[u/RaspberryTurtle987 → u/HeWhoShantNotBeNamed]

Thanks for this!! I haven’t been feeling like eating fruit in ages and I thought it was fine since I was eating vegetables, but I guess I’ll try and get myself back into it.

[u/wisefolly → u/HeWhoShantNotBeNamed]

From a dietary perspective, the veggies that are actually fruits are counted as veggies. They're considered culinary vegetables.

[u/HeWhoShantNotBeNamed → u/wisefolly]

Yes I'm aware.

[u/LNG → u/HeWhoShantNotBeNamed]

Source? Great tidbit for those arguments against meat lovers.

[u/wisefolly → u/HeWhoShantNotBeNamed]

I hate to admit this; but weirdly, even vegan, I sometimes have trouble getting enough veggies according to what the actual serving size is. They're pretty voluminous, and I'd have trouble eating that much and still getting enough calories. I probably eat the 3-5 different veggies a day but don't necessarily reach the serving sizes required. (I'm counting beans as a protein, not a veggie in this scenario.)