Can Fruits Replace Vegetables?

I love my vegetables, and on some days, I’d even choose to have vegetables on my plate rather than meat. However, I understand that some people really dislike consuming vegetables and when they notice me staring at them picking out their poor vegetables they’d cry out in defense “I do eat lots of fruits, ok!”, but can fruits really replace vegetables? Today, we’re here to debunk some of the myths and find out if fruits and vegetables contain the same amount and type of important nutrients that we need in our diet.

One common misunderstanding we have about fruits and vegetables is that they both contain the same nutrients. Yes, fruits and vegetables do have a lot of similarities in terms of nutrients as both of them are high in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and plant compounds. However, they are both different in the types of nutrients they provide, and the amount of sugar has a stark difference.

Fruits have a higher level of natural sugar from 5% - 15%. They also contain nutrients like Vitamin C and potassium. On the contrary, vegetables usually contain less than 5% of sugar but are rich in nutrients like Vitamin C, B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, and fiber, which are vital especially for growing children.

B vitamins are extremely important in making sure that the cells in our body are functioning properly as they help to convert food into energy, create new blood cells and maintaining healthy cells. Replacing vegetables with fruits would mean you’re taking in very little B vitamins and could lead to a weak immune system.

By replacing vegetables with fruits, you’ll eventually consume much more sugar than your body needs, and this means that you’re not getting enough the other nutrients you need from your vegetables.

The best kind of diet is essentially a balanced diet, and we recommend 1 serving of fruits and 1 serving for vegetables for every meal. Having said that, it is perfectly fine if you forgo vegetables once in a blue moon, but it shouldn’t be eliminated from your diet entirely.

Image by Health Hub

The HPB (Health Promotion Board)’s My Healthy Plate is the perfect illustration of how your diet should look like!

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