Can You Only Eat Vegetables & Still Stay Healthy?

The concept of eating only vegetables in order to increase or maintain health is not favored by virtually all nutritionists, who instead maintain that a balanced diet is the best approach. Depending on your health status, you may be able to maintain your health for many weeks or months by just eating vegetables, but deficiencies of protein, fatty acids and certain vitamins and minerals are likely to manifest sooner or later. A healthy vegetarian diet typically includes the addition of fruits and legumes, such as beans, peas and seeds. Consult a nutritionist about the importance of eating more than one food group.

Most vegetables are rich in fiber, antioxidants and assorted vitamin and minerals. Cellulose fiber is important for cleaning the intestinal tract and stimulating regular bowel movements. Antioxidants help reduce the tissue damage caused by free radicals, which are created by oxidation of certain compounds. Vitamins are necessary for numerous health-related factors such as immune function, tissue repair, metabolism, red blood cell production and many more. Minerals are essential for enzyme production, immunity, muscle function and strong bones. Good examples of exceptionally nutritious vegetables include carrots, broccoli, squash and leafy greens such as spinach and kale. The nutritional value of vegetables is reliant on soil quality, however, and mineral-depleted soil is a problem on many big commercial farms in the United States. Furthermore, most vegetables have very little or no vitamin B12, which is important for brain function, metabolism and red blood cell development.

Strictly eating only vegetables might deprive you of some very nutritious foods that you assume are classified as vegetables but really are not. For example, tomatoes, avocadoes and olives are actually fruits, although they are often combined with vegetables in salads and thought of as vegetables by many Americans. Furthermore, beans, peas and some nuts are actually legumes. These fruits and legumes are important additions to healthy vegetarian diets due to their soluble fiber, essential fatty acids and protein content, but they would not be allowed if you limited yourself to a strictly vegetable diet.

A primary problem with eating only vegetables is lack of caloric intake. In fact, many vegetables, such as celery, carrots, cucumber and lettuce, are negative calorie foods because the number of calories they have is less than the amount of energy needed to digest them. It’s estimated that it requires about 80 calories to chew, digest and process average-sized vegetables, but most don’t contain that many calories. The result of eating only vegetables is weight loss and a lack of complete nutrition.

Another major concern with a vegetable-only diet is lack of protein and essential fatty acids. Many vegetables contain some protein, especially spinach, asparagus and broccoli, but it pales in comparison to beef, poultry fish or eggs. Furthermore, aside from certain legumes, such as soybeans, vegetable protein is incomplete because it doesn’t contain all the essential amino acids that humans need. As a general category, vegetables are also very low in fats, especially if you re-classify avocados, olives and legumes as fruits. Essential fatty acids are important for forming cell walls and steroidal hormones. A lack of protein and fat not only inhibits growth, but it can lead to tissue deterioration and compromise immunity.

Public Health Nutrition: From Principles to Practice; Mark Lawrence and Tony WorsleyAdvanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism; James L. Groff et al.Article reviewed by Molly Solanki Last updated on: Jul 16, 2012

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