It should be the basis of our daily diet. Vegetables and fruits should consist at least 30% of our daily food. Vegetables are a valuable ally for health because they are rich in vitamins, minerals, micronutrients and fiber. They are classified into different categories according to their colors, their content of carbohydrates, their usefulness and content of vitamins A and C.

The vegetables can be eaten in any form: fresh, frozen, canned, dried or even in the form of juice. Their value in terms of energy efficiency is very low (10-50 kcal / 100 g). Almost all vegetables contain no fat and no cholesterol. Most of their energy comes from carbohydrates. Vegetables are a great source of vitamins A, C and folic acid, minerals and fiber.

The composition of vegetables and wholesomeness are affected by many factors.

The vitamin C content changes depending on the variety, maturity, exposure to sunlight, temperature maintenance and the method of handling and transport. The nutritional value of vegetables depends on their freshness. Vitamins and other valuable nutrients they contain begin to disappear by the time you cut.

Folic acid is destroyed by heat during cooking, which is why vegetables should be boiled in a little water and the remainder should be used in the manufacture of sauces. The color of vegetables is an indicator of the existence of vitamin A. In general, the more intense the yellow, orange or green, the more vitamin D is in a vegetable. The outer leaves of dark green vegetables have more vitamins (up to 50 times) than the inner leaves. All vegetables have the same amount of vitamins and other nutrients. To have a balanced and tasty diet, we should consume a variety of vegetables, which is the key to eating a significant amount of vitamins.

What should consumers know?

When you choose vegetables you should buy the preferred time of year that occur in nature. This is because vegetables have a better appearance, aroma, taste better and have probably been the least affected by various chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Although there is a lot to talk about of human intervention with chemicals, there are simple tricks to choose the better:

To know what is the best time of maturation for each vegetable kind. You should prefer seasonal vegetables and food because they 'fit' better with their time. The non-seasonally grown in abnormal conditions are more likely to be aggravated by pesticide residues and other toxic substances. Seasonal vegetables are tastier and richer in nutrients.

Prefer to shop from the street markets and small producers who are on the bench a few beans, a few tomatoes, parsley, a few potatoes so it is difficult for anyone to interfere with pesticides in such a small production and variety.

The vibrancy of color and odor are signs of fresh vegetables. A simple observation point is the freshness of the roots. Fresh comes with the normal color, but as time pass the roots goes black and dehydrated.

Avoid vegetables that are all the same size, same color and same weight. Probably human intervention determined exactly when and how would maturation at the expense of the normal mode of development. The size of vegetables is still a focus of attention: the consumer should buy that is close to normal size - neither too small nor too big. This means that very little was developed in poor soils, so it will also be low in nutrients. The large size is usually in excess fertilizers or pesticides.

It would be - and there is this possibility - or even to try to smell the vegetables before you buy them.

Prefer organic products and where possible search for a formal institution certification that the production was organic, and made of nature-friendly products and processes.

Prefer the local produced products and if the vegetables are frozen, verify the origin of the package.

Good vegetables are to be kept refrigerated and consume first the most sensitive products.

Arterial hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and vegetarianism

Dietary protein can reduce heart stress. The increase in consumption of protein derived from plants and vegetables reduces the risk of suffering from high blood pressure. Plant proteins have different amino acid composition of the proteins of animal origin. Amino acids are the basic ingredients that make up each protein. The difference in amino acid content of plant proteins compared with animal proteins, may be the cause of the lower pressure of people who eat more vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fruits and other foods of plant origin. Also vegetables may offer high amounts of magnesium and fiber. These may contribute to the beneficial effects of plant nutrition to stress. A diet rich in vegetable protein may be more beneficial not only for pressure but for the heart and blood vessels in general.

The above key findings emerged from an epidemiological survey of 4700 men in 4 countries. In addition it was found that even a small increase in vegetable protein diet was accompanied by a decrease in blood pressure. Instead it appeared that the increase of proteins of animal origin, accompanied by an increase in blood pressure. It's been observed that meat-eaters were on average higher body weight. These findings further substantiate the view that herbal products help prevent high blood pressure and serious illnesses that arise as heart disease, kidney failure, stroke and others.

Another interesting work that adds new elements in our knowledge of the high pressure, showed that blood lipids including cholesterol and triglycerides may help identify those persons that suffer from high blood pressure. In epidemiological work, which included 3110 physicians (Physician's Health Study) that lasted for 14 years, measured the blood lipid levels and were correlated with the occurrence or not of high blood pressure. Physicians who had high total cholesterol, low good cholesterol HDL, high bad cholesterol, LDL, were more likely to attack from high blood pressure. The high cholesterol levels prior to the event high pressure. Measurement of blood cholesterol may help early identification of men most at risk to suffer from high blood pressure.

We see that grow progressively and constructively to acquire information about the "silent killer" as it is called high blood pressure. Based on this knowledge we should increase plant protein in our diet, and recognizing the factors that predispose to high pressure, to take the necessary steps to guard us from diseases that are life threatening such as heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure.