I dont eat fruits and vegs, plz help.

Question
Hi

I don't eat vegetables and fruits, so I have a kind of problem, and it's going to catch up with me. I am 20 years old and trying to overcome this habit/problem. I have developed some alternatives to it as you will read. I eat potato chips, pumpkin cakes, all spices like ginger, chilly, garlic, salt, onions, pepper ect, and I love to cook. I eat small quantities of peas, carrots, corn in cottage pies and curry and rice dishes. I drink apple juice and that's it, beside the usual Coke, Pepsi, water, wine, beer ect. I don't drink milk but I eat breakfast cereal with milk and I eat ice creams. I eat tomato sauce/salsa, but I don't eat tomatoes.

I eat all fish, meat, chicken and exotic things like snails, mussels, shushi ect.

I don't eat peas, carrots, pumpkins, in just its pure form. I do not eat cabbage, broccoli, apples, pears, oranges, papayas, grapes ect,

I don't eat fruits and vegetables because it don't taste great./

I do take a daily vitamin pill called Centrum.
Do I have a problem and what can I do?
Please feel free to ask me some questions.
Thank you
Christo
South-Africa


Answer
Dear Christo,

I think I might have some reassuring news for you: it doesn't sound to me like you have much of a problem! Your awareness, alone, is a positive factor. Besides, inspite of what you say you "don't" do, you do do it anyway...
You do drink milk (it is the same if you "eat" it with cereal - actually a lot, lot better even!). You do eat fish/fowl/meat and so your protein levels sound fine (modern young adult males tend to need a lot of this to perform adequately). Cereal (I pray it is a sugar-free and fibre rich one) and sushi (although the rice is probably, and if so, unfortunately white?) covers a part of your carbohydrate and essential mineral/vitamin needs. And most importantly, inspite of your worries: you do eat veg and fruit; I suppose though you and me both are wondering whether your portions are a) fresh enough and b) sufficient enough. So let me put a few facts for you in a row.
Peas and carrots are some of the few veg that "hide" well without losing their nutritional value. Spinach for example or broccoli need to be ultra fresh and eaten in comparatively large protions for "effect".
And have I got news for you: you do eat potato - in your cottage pie! (With potatoes it doesn't matter how you prepare them, just keep the fat content low).
The juice of a fruit is not the same as the fruit itself, especially not if from a bottle: you lose a lot of the benefits of the properties of the fruit (fibre/vitamins) but if it is freshly prepared (on the spot) it is not as redundant as pre-packaged, filtered (let alone processed!) juice. So quality is all important (if it is not organic and fresh, don't consider it a valuable nutrient; it might even be "bad" for you).
With tomatoes there is less of a problem (fruit though it may be). It is not considered a terribly important product in some healthy diets but for the Mediterranean type of eater sauces are prefered to tomato salads. I experience no loss in quality of the product in this type of consumption. Practically, of course a serving of sauce contains far more tomatoes than you would want to eat fresh. If the salsa you mention is from a bottle you need to check the ingredients very carefully: I suspect it's more of a chutney type sauce you are using and then the ingredients are considered condiments and not nutrients.
I hope (but doubt) you do get to eat some leafy vegetables (salads). But at the same time I remind you of the health benefits of seaweed - in your sushi (if organic, otherwise potentially rather toxic due to pollution in some seas).
It is crucial to have fresh veg/fruit on a daily basis. Bear in mind bodies don't catch up. But they can cope with less better than with excess. Young adults can be really harsh on their health and get away with stuff that would do the older folks in, in half the time. But if long term or improved health is your main concern (you do not state your present condition) you must focus, for starters, on what is not good in your diet. Please do not be naive and find any "potato" benefits in crisps or "milk" in icecream: there are none that outweight the negatives (they are treats not food). Same with drinks - cola is the worst thing you name in your list, which actually could undermine (per single tin!) the otherwise not completely unhealthy diet you unwittingly eat. Go very easy on the alcohol too: since it ruins your metabolism and robs you of the few nutrients you do eat (so the less "healthy" you eat the more damage alcohol can do, attacking all your resources and impairing your immunity very fast. Also, alcohol replaces an appetitie for healthy food).
Smokers and drinkers need to eat Exceptionally Healthy in order to reach a minimal level of health.
Vitamin pills are controversial nowadays even in classical circles of medicine and nutrition. The body is not a machine which tots up the incoming doses of nutrients and gives you the all clear if you have "popped" the right amount. It is a highly sensitive and sophisticated, resilent and dynamic organism that is meant to serve your higher purposes (i.e. help you fulfill your dreams, ideals, aims, future plans). If you want to be "mechanical" about it, consider the care, time, money, effort either a mechanic takes of his vehicle or a surgeon of his patient. Being healthy will always take a considerable amount of effort, dedication, and involves doing things you may not initially adore and continue to find a bore.
A final tip is: if stuff doesn't taste great, have you ever thought of preparing it more creatively? Grated carrots taste very differently from chewing a whole one, let alone a cooked one, or an oven stewed one, or a steamed one, or a stirfried one. Not to mention the difference beteween organic veg and plastic supermarket stuff.
Bear in mind that eating  healthy is also very much about challenging your creativity. If you eat well you are in effect learning to live well: for eating involves many skills and processes on a subconscious level which are also needed on a more conscious level. (Think of everyday expressions: preparing for an event; presentation counts; biting off more than you can chew; finding it hard to digest an experience; and all the expletives to do with the waste matter.) You may be surprised to discover, as life goes on, how the microcosmic world of your body and mind and the dreamy/inner world of your soul correspond and interrelate  very closely with your outer, larger, interactive world. If you want to, you can learn to see how it is not only "as above, so below", but also: "as within, so without".
The best way to deal with any budding or presumed dietary problem is to observe it very closely, honestly and sensibly. Establish your needs, your actual concerns (any early symptoms?) and find out what works for you (the crazy mazes of the media,regular science or New Age trends can drive you potty). A healthy relationship between the consumer and what he consumes and the physical medium (the body) is a menage a trois which requires a touch far more delictae than lists, numbers and variable facts can resolve that easily.
Also: taste buds and dietry needs change with age, so keep your options open and annually keep trying out what you like with renewed hopes. You might like to bear in mind, also, that it is considered well-mannered and shows sophistication if you are able to acquire a wide taste throughout your life. You sound adventurous enough in that you include various cultures into your diet, so I am holding out for much room for expansion.
By the way, I miss one thing on your list that does concern me: water. If it doesn't taste great just remember it is the source of life. Check out the different types and discover the sundry flavours!
May your meals be a joy to you,
Take great care of yourself,
Evelyn

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