by Kellie Davis

Vegetables are an essential part of your daily diet. The benefits of eating loads of fresh veggies are innumerous, including providing you with a rich source of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Below are 3 amazing veggies you won’t want to leave out of your summer salads.

Asparagus

Asparagus is rich in fiber, especially insoluble fiber. Just 1 cup of steamed asparagus will provide you with 2.8 grams of fiber, improving your digestion and reducing the amount of bad fat your body will absorb.

Asparagus also carries 32% of your daily value of vitamins, aiding you body in the production of collagen, which improves the health of your skin, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels. Along with vitamins, these fibrous green veggies provide you with a significant amount of manganese, and foliate.

To top it all off, eating asparagus nourishes your body with a special carbohydrate known as inulin. This carb improves the production of healthy enzymes in your digestive tract.

Eggplant

Eggplant has been cultivated for more than 2,500 years, and with good reason. It’s loaded with fiber to aid in healthy digestion, along with potassium, which helps with overall metabolic function.

This veggie gets its purple color from anthocyanin nasunin, a highly potent fighter of free radicals that helps protect your cell membranes. It is also rich in thiamine, a water-soluble vitamin that breaks down fats and proteins, while aiding in the conversion of carbs to glucose for energy stores.

Red Bell Peppers

A delicious red fruit or veggie provides you with a great amount of vitamin C. However, red bell peppers top the charts with an amazing 300% of your daily value of this potent antioxidant. Also rich in vitamin A, these two powerful antioxidants found in red bell peppers team up to fight against free radicals.

Red bell peppers are also a good source of vitamin B and folic acid, providing you with ample energies stores and fatigue prevention. In addition, a small trace of lycopene found in these bright veggies can boost muscle growth.

Selection

Buy vegetables that are in season from local farms. Organically farmed produce is your best choice. However, organically farmed produced that is shipped from far away regions may still carry harmful pesticides due to regulations. If you can, grown your own vegetables in a small box or garden outside of your home.

About Kellie

Kellie Davis is a graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University with a B.A. in English. She is now a freelance writer, contributor to the Olicious Life, and NPC figure competitor. She currently resides in Arizona with her husband and two young children.