Vegetables are important protective food and highly beneficial for the maintenance of health and prevention of disease. They contain valuable food ingredients which can be successfully utilised to build-up and repair the body.
Vegetables are valuable in maintaining alkaline reserves in the body. They are valued mainly for their high vitamin and mineral content. Vitamins A, B and C are contained in vegetables in fair amounts. Faulty cooking and prolonged careless storage can, however, destroy these valuable elements.
There are different kinds of vegetables. They may be edible roots, stems, leaves, fruits and seeds. Each group contributes to diet in its own way. Roots are high in energy value and good sources of vitamin B group. Seeds are relatively high in carbohydrates and proteins. Leaves, stems and fruits are excellent sources of minerals, vitamins, water and roughage.
It is not the green vegetables only that are useful. Farinaceous vegetables consisting of starchy roots such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, the tubers and legumes are also valuable. They are excellent sources of carbohydrates and provide energy to the body.
To prevent loss of nutrients in vegetables, we should steam or boil vegetables in their own juices on a slow fire and the water or cooking liquid should not be drained off. Vegetables lose their nutritive and medicinal values if they are boiled hard and for a long time in a large quantity of water.
No vegetable should be peeled unless it is so old that the peeling is tough and unpalatable. In most root vegetables the largest amount of minerals are directly under the skin and these are lost if vegetables are peeled. Soaking of vegetables should also be avoided if taste and nutritive value are to be preserved. Finally, vegetables should not be cooked in aluminium utensils. Aluminium is a soft metal and is acted upon by both food acids and alkalis. There is scientific evidence to show that tiny particles of aluminium from foods cooked in such utensils enter the stomach and that the powerful astringent properties of aluminium injure the sensitive lining of the stomach, leading to gastric irritation as well as digestive and intestinal ailments.
An intake of about 280 grams of vegetables per day is considered essential for maintenance of good health. Of this, leafy vegetables should constitute 40 per cent, roots and tubers 30 per cent and the other vegetables like brinjals and lady fingers the remaining 30 per cent.
Questions
Q1. on the basis of passage make notes and title.
Q2. write the summary of it.
Answers
Answer:
Q1) ans:
"vegetables" are precious
TITLE : VEGETABLES AND THEIR IMPORTANCE
Explanation:
- Benefits of vegetables
- They are protective food
- Highly beneficial
a) For maintenanace of health
b) Prevention of diseases
c) Build - up & Repair of body
- Different Kinds of Vegetables
- used to maintain alkaline in the body
- content different vit.
- different parts are edible
a) Roots - high in energy and good source of vit. B
b) Seeds - High in carbohydrates and Proteins
c) Leaves, Stem and Fruits - min. , vit. , water & roug.
- Prevention Loss of Nutrients
- Boil - loss their nutr. and med. values
- avoid soaking veg
- not to cooked in Al utensils.
- Intake values
- 280 grams per day
- 40 percent of leafy veg.
- 30 percent of roots and tubers
- remaining 30 percent
Key
- Vit. - Vitamin
- min. - minerals
- roug. - roughage
- nutr. - nutrients
- med. - medicinal
- Al - aluminium
- Veg - vegetables
Summary
Vegetables are very beneficial for our body. They contain valuable elements and nutrients i.e. vitamins and minerals. Different parts of plants are edible with different nutritional values. We should not boil hard vegetables for a long time to prevent loss of nutrients. Soaking vegetables should also be avoided to preserve nutrients. Aluminum is a soft metal and is acted upon by both acids and alkalis, their powerful astringent properties leading to digestive and intestinal ailments. An average person should consume 280 grams of vegetables per day.