“Eat your vegetables” is encouragement for some, and a nightmare for others. If you’re not a huge fan of vegetables, you’re probably wondering if there are any that you can skip eating in Poplar Bluff, MO. Or maybe you’d like to skip them altogether.

Here’s the bad news: there’s simply no substitute for eating vegetables. You might have to experiment to find some ways that you enjoy eating the green (or red, yellow, orange and purple) stuff, but it’s important that you eat some—unless you are hoping for myriad health problems in the future. Here’s some of what you might experience if you aren’t eating enough vegetables:

• Constipation: Vegetables are a good source of fiber, and Americans consistently need to include more fiber in their diets. If you’ve been occupying the bathroom for more than five minutes at a time, you might be suffering from the lack of veggies. Sure, it might seem funny now, but you won’t enjoy the long-term results.
• Low immunity: A lack of vegetables also means you’re missing out on some important vitamins and minerals, which lowers your immunity. If you get frequent colds, flus and low-grade sniffles, you could use some more nutrients in your diet.
• Heart disease: Long-term effects of not eating your vegetables include serious heart disease—an often-fatal condition.
• Diabetes: Since a lack of vegetables and their nutrients contribute to weight gain, not eating them can lead to developing diabetes over time.
• Cancer: As prevalent as cancer is, it sometimes seems like we can’t avoid it—but if you’re not eating any vegetables, you’re courting danger.
• Weight gain: Finally, as you probably know, eating vegetables is part of a healthy diet. If you completely ignore this facet of a balanced food intake, you can expect the numbers on the scale to continually creep up.

How to make vegetables taste better

You know the risks of not eating vegetables, but you still can’t stand them—we get it. While there are no specific vegetables you can go without in Poplar Bluff, MO, we suggest trying to find the least offensive versions and figuring out how to incorporate them in your diet.

Experts suggest thinking about why you don’t like vegetables. Do they make you bloated and gassy? Make sure to cook them. If your experience with them has been limp and tasteless, try a stir-fry or saute with plenty of herbs and spices to make them crisp and delicious. If you just can’t stand the flavor, a healthy smoothie with plenty of fruits and berries will mask the flavor of spinach and kale.

If your kids won’t eat veggies, a good way to get them more interested is to involve them in the shopping and cooking process.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to get around not eating your vegetables unless you want to live a shortened life—but we promise there are great-tasting vegetables out there. Stop by The Bee Hive Natural Foods in Poplar Bluff, MO today for suggestions and to stock up on any necessary vitamins and supplements.