Is a tomato a fruit? Are cucumbers classified as a fruit or a vegetable? How about avocados – are avocados a vegetable or a fruit?
Well, it depends why you are asking, for the answer to what’s a vegetable and what’s a fruit. Fruits and vegetables are classified from both a botanical and culinary standpoint. However, when we are discussing nutrition, fruits and vegetables are entwined. Let our Dietitians explain further.
As Miles Kington, a British journalist once said, ‘Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting in a fruit salad.’
Most of us Don’t Eat Enough Vegetables
In fact, the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that only 8.7% of Australian adults consume the recommended serves of vegetables per day.
Vegetables are an important part of the diet. Vegetables are low in sugar, salt, and fat. They are rich in vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, magnesium, zinc, phosphorous, and folic acid. Research has shown that consuming these nutrients as food, within vegetables, is more beneficial for health than consuming them as supplements.
Vegetables contain a good source of dietary fibre. Fibre makes you fuller for longer and prevents overeating. It also acts as a prebiotic, feeding the good bacteria in the gut.
As part of a well-balanced, healthy diet and an active lifestyle, a high intake of vegetables can help you to:
Reduce obesity and maintain a healthy weight
Lower cholesterol
Control blood pressure
Eating Vegetables for protection against diseases
Vegetables contain antioxidants and phytochemicals, or plant chemicals.
These substances can help to protect you from some diseases such as:
Type 2 Diabetes
Stroke
Heart Disease
Cancer – Some Forms of Cancer, Especially Bowel, Stomach and Throat Cancers Later in Life
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
Fruits you think are vegetables
Yes, a tomato is a fruit. And so are, cucumbers, capsicums, and avocados. They are commonly referred to as vegetables but are in fact a fruit.
Biologically speaking, fruits are the edible portion of the plant that develops from a flower and contains seeds. Vegetables are all other plant parts, including roots, stems, leaves, etc. From a culinary perspective, fruits are sweet while vegetables are savoury in flavour. They are often eaten as or with a main course.
However, when we are referring to nutrition, there are some are a bunch of fruits, that are classed as a vegetable and therefore count towards to your recommended serves of veggies each day.
Fruits that are classed as under the vegetable food group
Tomato
Olives
Eggplants – although bitter and savoury, eggplants are considered berries.
Pumpkin – growing from a flower of a ground vine, pumpkin is one of the biggest fruits.
Cucumbers and Zucchinis – Similar to pumpkin, zucchinis and cucumbers both grow on vines.
Green Beans
Capsicum and Chilli
Avocado
So if you are counting your vegetable intake per day, theses fruits, such as tomatoes, pumpkins, capsicums, and avocadoes count towards your vegetable intake.
The recommended serves of vegetables
The Australian Dietary Guidelines have recommendations on how many vegetables adults, children and adolescents of different ages require.
The Australian Dietary guidelines recommend the following:
1-2 years old should have 2-3 serves of vegetables each day
2-3 years old should have 2½ serves of vegetables each day
4-8 years old should have 4½ serves of vegetables each day
Adolescents and adults should have 5 serves of vegetables each day
What is a serve of vegetables?
A serve of vegetable is 75g or:
½ cup cooked green or orange vegetables (for example, broccoli, spinach, carrots or pumpkin)
½ cup cooked dried or canned beans, peas or lentils (preferably with no added salt)
1 cup green leafy or raw salad vegetables
½ cup sweet corn
½ medium potato or other starchy vegetables (sweet potato, taro or cassava)
1 medium tomato
Eat the vegetable rainbow for good health
Vegetables can be categorised into different groups, with each group providing their own unique nutrients.
The main sub-groups for vegetables are:
Dark green or cruciferous/brassica Broccoli, brussels sprouts, Bok choy, cabbages, cauliflower, kale, Lettuce, silver beet, spinach, snow peas
Root/tubular/bulb vegetables Potato, cassava, sweet potato, taro, carrots, beetroot, onions, shallots, garlic, bamboo shoots, swede, turnip
Legumes/beans Red kidney beans, soybeans, lima beans, cannellini beans, chickpeas, lentils, split peas, tofu
Other vegetables Tomato, celery, sprouts, zucchini, squash, avocado, capsicum, eggplant, mushrooms, cucumber, okra, pumpkin, green peas, green beans
Foods of the same colour generally contain similar protective compounds. Try to eat vegetables of all colours to get the full range of health benefits.
Red foods such as tomatoes. These contain lycopene, which is important for fighting prostate cancer and heart disease
Green vegetables such as spinach and kale. These contain chemicals that help protect against age-related eye disease
Blue and purple foods such as eggplant. The properties of this food may help protect the body from cancer
White foods such as cauliflower. These may also help protect against some cancers.
Tips to increase your vegetables intake
By enlightening you on some fruits that count towards your vegetable intake, we hope this has opened more possibilities of veggie goodness in your diet.
If you’re still struggling to meet the recommended serves, here’s more tips and tricks from the OSCAR Care Group Dietitians.
Make vegetables take up at least one third of meals and half the meal if you are trying to lose weight. Serve vegetables or salad as a side dish even when eating meals like pasta, lasagna or risotto.
Choose frozen vegetables. Fresh vegetables are often very pricy and hard to buy on a budget. Frozen vegetables such as broccoli, carrots and peas are lower in price. Freezing can help to retain the nutrient content and may even improve the beneficial properties vegetables have.
Turn vegetables into noodles. Making vegetable noodles or pasta helps in increasing vegetable intake. Sweet potatoes, carrots, zucchini, and beetroot all make great alternatives to the pasta version and are very nutrient dense.
Turn vegetables into chips. There are so many vegetables that can be turned into chips such as beetroot, kale or Brussel sprouts.
Snack on vegetables. Eating veggie sticks such as celery, carrots, capsicum, and cucumber is a great way to increase vegetables intake.
Make a salad sandwich. It’s delicious and a great way to consume your vegetables requirements.
Dietitians are qualified professionals to support you with personalised dietary advice to increase your vegetables intake and improve your overall health. With Dietitians all over Australia, OSCAR Care Group Dietitians offer one on one consultation to residents in aged care homes, assist childcare centres with menus and provide support families, and individuals with personalised advice within our Mount Waverley Clinic.
Our team is here to support you.
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