Consequences of Not Eating Fruits & Vegetables

Deficiencies

One of the initial adverse effects of avoiding fruits and vegetables might be a vitamin or mineral deficiency. Produce contributes B-vitamins that help you derive energy from your diet, vitamin C to assist with wound healing, vitamin A to keep your skin and eyes healthy and vitamin K to support blood clotting. Minerals in fruits and vegetables include, for example, calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium, which contribute to your skeletal, nerve and cardiovascular health. Avoiding these foods can impact any of these functions.

Digestive Issues

Fruits and vegetables contain a type of indigestible carbohydrate called fiber, which doesn’t contribute calories to your diet but can improve your intestinal health. Insoluble fiber increases the bulk of waste products in your large intestine, speeds up the waste as it passes through your system and helps you avoid constipation and hemorrhoids. Lack of fiber in your diet can have the opposite effect.

Disease Risk

Soluble fiber swells as it passes through your gut and slows the absorption of nutrients such as glucose and cholesterol. In this way, it can help regulate your blood levels of these molecules and may lessen your risk of diabetes or elevated cholesterol levels. In addition, fruits and vegetables are rich in phytochemicals, plant-based substances that not only contribute color to these foods but also may reduce inflammation and even slow or prevent tumor growth.

Cardiovascular Health

Balancing potassium and sodium in your diet is a key factor in managing your cardiovascular health. Many Americans consume too much sodium and too little potassium, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, which are rich in potassium, can help restore the balance of these minerals. Not eating these foods may increase your risk of high blood pressure or stroke.

Weight Problems

Fruits and vegetables have a relatively low energy density, meaning they offer few calories per unit of weight. They therefore provide bulk to your diet but don’t overload you with calories, and their water and fiber content helps you feel full and can prevent you from overeating -- particularly helpful if you are trying to lose weight. Excluding fruits and vegetables in favor of foods with a high energy density, such as cheese or fatty meat, can hinder your efforts to maintain a healthy body weight.