11 Fall Veggies to Add to Your Diet (and Why)

10.12.2022 0 comments

Author: Trisha Houghton, CNS, ASIST

Fall is here, and that means colder days and a greater chance of getting sick.

Plus, the days are getting shorter, the nights longer, and it’s often too cold to be outside in the sunlight for as many hours as we were during the spring and summer.

Which makes it all the more important to take care of your health by exercising more, living right, and, most important of all, eating right.

Make sure to add these fall veggies to your diet to give your body a fighting chance against infections and illness this fall season:

Pumpkin

Pumpkin is one of the most nutritious of the fall veggies—heck, of all veggies! [1]

Each serving of pumpkin packs a whopping 209% of your Vitamin A DV, 22% of your Vitamin E DV, and 10% of your Vitamin C DV. It’s also rich in magnesium, iron, copper, fiber, and potassium.

Some of the benefits of pumpkin includes:

• Greater immunity to disease
• Protection against cellular degeneration of your eyes, skin, hair, and nails
• Protection against UV damage to your skin
• Improved heart health, including lowered blood pressure and lower cholesterol levels
• Improved metabolic function

However you eat pumpkin—baked into a pie, roasted in your oven, or pureed into a soup—trust that it’s a truly amazing veggie that will do wonders to boost your health this fall.

Beets

Beets are a truly game-changing vegetable that deserves a central place in your diet.

First off, they’re incredibly nutrient-rich—they contain fiber, Vitamin C, B vitamins, copper, potassium, manganese, folate, magnesium, and iron. [2]

Research has identified a lot of health benefits of eating beets, including:

• Better heart health, lower blood pressure, and increased production of the nitric oxide that dilates your blood vessels
• Increased production of mitochondria, which helps your cells to produce more energy
• Reduced inflammation, thanks to the antioxidant betalains
• Better digestive function and intestinal health
• Reduced risk of chronic diseases like IBS, colon cancer, diabetes, and heart disease
• Enhanced brain function

There are so many wonderful ways you can include beets in your diet—from beet juice to beet salad to roasted beet wedges, even eating the beet leaves. Thanks to their dark purple color, you can eat them fully confident they’re packed with health-boosting antioxidants.

Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes are a fascinating root vegetable. Like regular potatoes, they’re high in starch, which serves as a great source of energy for your body. However, they’re higher in other nutrients, too, including [3] Vitamin C, iron, phosphorus, zinc, and potassium.

But what makes them truly awesome is their high Vitamin A content. The carotenoids that give the sweet potatoes their bright orange color are potent antioxidants that can protect you against cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and most important of all, eye degeneration.

Serve them fried, baked, or mashed, but make sure to eat them all fall long to give your body the critical nutrients it needs!

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is another squash that’s well worth adding to your autumn diet, thanks to its many nutrients and benefits [4].

It’s a very nutrient-dense food, meaning it packs a lot of macro and micronutrients into each serving—including fiber, Vitamin C, B vitamins, manganese, and iron. At the same time, it’s also very low in calories, so you can eat large quantities of this high-quality food guilt-free.

This squash is rich in eye-protecting Vitamin A, the potent antioxidant that is Vitamin C, and the fiber that helps to improve your digestion and intestinal function. It also slows down stomach emptying and encourages better energy synthesis, which in turn helps to regulate your appetite and prevent hunger pangs and cravings. It’s a diet-friendly food that will contribute to your autumn weight loss efforts!

Kale

Let’s be honest: kale isn’t the tastiest of the veggies around, but we all know how game-changing it can be for your health. It’s worth putting in the effort to cook and eat it as often as you can this autumn to give your body the protection it needs against disease and infections.

Some of kale’s benefits include [5]:

• High Vitamin A and Vitamin C content
• Rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and other brain-critical nutrients
• Lowers cholesterol
• Prevents cancer
• Protects against macular degeneration
• Provides minerals like zinc, calcium, and potassium that are critical for internal system and organ function

Make it a point to eat this superfood this autumn, for your health’s sake!

Okra

Okra is one of the tastiest and most versatile of the fall veggies, so you’ll be glad to know it’s also incredibly nutrient-rich. Each serving of okra delivers fiber, magnesium, folate, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin K, and B vitamins [6].

Okra is also rich in antioxidants (including isoquercetin and flavonoids) that can protect against oxidative damage and improve heart health. The polyphenols in okra can improve brain health and reduce inflammation in the brain (as well as the rest of the body), which in turn protects your brain from deterioration and maintains healthy memory and cognitive function.

Okra is heart-smart, cancer-fighting, anti-diabetic, and rich in nutrients critical for a healthy pregnancy. Plus, there are so many delicious ways you can add it into your meals!

Parsnips

Step up your autumn recipes with parsnips, which happen to be as nutritious and beneficial for your health as they are delicious.

Parsnips are loaded with a wide range of vital nutrients—including fiber, Vitamin C, zinc, Vitamin E, folate, and B vitamins. [7] They’re also loaded with antioxidants that may have anti-cancer properties and can help to protect against carcinogens and free radicals.

What makes parsnips particularly excellent for you, though, is their high fiber content. They contain both soluble and insoluble fiber, which will help to clear out your digestive tract and improve intestinal health. They’re also great at lowering blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure, as well as combatting inflammation.

Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are packed with glycosinolate glucobrassicin, a sulfur-based substance that can have a lot of truly amazing benefits for your health. [8] Not only will this compound protect your DNA against damage (which can lead to cancer), but it can stop tumors from growing new blood vessels (effectively killing them), protect your intestines and stomach, reduce cancer risk, lower blood pressure, manage cholesterol, and protect against heart disease and diabetes. Brussels sprouts are even rich in the Vitamin A that is needed to prevent cellular degeneration in your eyes.

Bake them, boil them, or roast them—however you eat them, you can savor every bite knowing they’re improving your health.

Swiss Chard

Swiss chard, like spinach and kale, is a dark leafy green packed with a lot of nutrients—everything from Vitamin A to Vitamin C to Vitamin K to B vitamins to copper to folate [9]. The high antioxidant content of Swiss chard reduces free radical damage and protects against diseases. It can also have anti-inflammatory effects and reduce your risk of developing chronic disease.

The flavonoid compounds in Swiss chard are known to have anti-cancer properties, attacking cancer cells and killing them off.

Turnips

Turnips may not be the most popular of the fall veggies, but it definitely deserves a place in your autumn diet. They’re packed with calcium, magnesium, potassium, Vitamin C, phosphorus, and folate, and are a great source of Vitamin A [10].

Thanks to their high potassium content, they play a role in good nerve health, muscle function, and cardiovascular health. The glucosinates in turnips will be natural cancer-fighting nutrients and the antioxidant lutein will improve eye health. Best of all, thanks to their high fiber content, you can improve metabolic health and digestion without adding unnecessary calories to your diet. They’re even good for weight loss!

Endive

Endives are a salad green used largely for its flavor (a light anise-like taste), but it just so happens they’re also incredibly good for your health [11]. Endives are an amazing source of folate, which ensures your body can produce new red blood cells. They’re also rich in kaempferol, a plant compound that has antioxidant properties and can reduce your risk of developing cancer (including skin, liver, and colon cancer). It’s heart-smart, amazing for your digestion, and can protect against weight gain. Definitely a veggie you want to add to your autumn menu!

Sit up and pay attention, because these fall veggies are game-changing for your health. Add them into your diet as the weather turns cool, and you’ll be protected—not just against colds and the flu, but against an immense array of chronic conditions, from heart disease to diabetes to cancer.

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