Vegetables definitely play a leading role in a healthy balanced diet. After all, they’re packed with nutrients, low in calories and a source of fibre. They can help with keeping a healthy weight, which reduces the risk of 13 different types of cancer, and a diet with plenty of fibre helps to reduce the risk of bowel cancer too. As if that weren’t enough, eating plants is good for the planet as well.

But did you know that veggies’ star quality wasn’t always recognised? In this article, we’re going to follow their journey to stardom and share some facts and tips along the way.

Before they were famous 

Any star needs a backstory. It took a while for veggies to be ‘discovered’ and catapulted into the limelight. Before the discovery of vitamins and minerals, we couldn’t fully appreciate the benefits of eating veg.

For example, an influential 19th century US scientist at Wesleyan University, Wilbur Olin Atwater, believed that the most important thing about food was how many calories it provided. He called this the “fuel value”. Though he recognised that foods contained different “mineral matters”, like the rest of the scientific community at the time, he didn’t realise their significance. He thought it was all about protein, carbohydrates and fat.

Atwater carried out experiments in which people spent days in a special chamber, so he could measure their energy intake and output. “Food and drink are passed into the chamber through an aperture which serves also for the removal of the solid and liquid excretory products,” he wrote. Apparently, a Dr Towne “rather enjoyed his stay in the chamber” – maybe there wasn’t much to do in Connecticut at the time.

Atwater used his findings to put together a sort of league table of foods based on their fuel value. Anyone using that as a guide to what they should be eating would end up eating a lot of meat, drinking alcohol and not really bothering with vegetables. Of course, we know now that, as well as eating more veg, it’s also important to cut down on processed and red meat to reduce the risk of bowel cancer. Despite his findings, Atwater was against drinking alcohol and would probably be pleased to hear that, if you drink alcohol, cutting down reduces your risk of 7 types of cancer.

Getting discovered 

Lots of stars have a story of overcoming challenges to get to where they are. Having their book rejected, being dropped by their record label, not getting the role that seemed perfect for them. And vegetables faced an even bigger obstacle – society didn’t recognise the existence of a key part of what they had to offer.

The discovery of vitamins and minerals didn’t start until around the beginning of the 20th century. Before then, although some illnesses such as beriberi (vitamin B1 deficiency) were known to be linked to the absence of something from the diet, doctors and scientists had no idea what it was. No wonder veggies were overlooked and left in nutritional obscurity.

Long before Dr Towne enjoyed the exceptional room service in Atwater’s chamber, vitamins were being overlooked with fatal consequences. Dr James Lind, in his Treatise on Scurvy, published in 1753, noted that “[a]rmies have been supposed to lose more of their men by sickness than by the sword.” In what is often said to be the world’s first randomised trial, Lind “took twelve patients in the scurvy” and gave them different possible treatments, including “two oranges and one lemon … every day”.

Although he concluded that “oranges and lemons were the most effectual remedies for this distemper at sea,” Lind still refused to accept that scurvy was caused solely by dietary deficiency and insisted that it was due to “an obstructed perspiration.” It would be another 42 years before the Admiralty ordered the provision of lemon juice to sailors, and vitamin C itself wasn’t discovered until 1928. This, and the discovery of other vitamins and minerals around the same time, put veg on the path to stardom and showed the importance of eating a variety of them.

Today, scientists are exploring how vitamins and minerals might be able to help with cancer treatment too.

Becoming an influencer 

As a star on the rise following the discovery of vitamins early in the 20th century, one veg entered an unusual promotional partnership during World War II.

You’ve probably heard that carrots will help you see in the dark, but is it true? Well, yes and no. Like other red, green (leafy) and yellow veg like spinach, red peppers and sweet potatoes, carrots are a good source of a pigment called beta-carotene. Our bodies convert it to vitamin A, which helps us to see in dim light. So, although there is a connection between carrots and night vision, as long as we’re getting enough vitamin A (which we can also get from eggs and dairy), carrots in our diet won’t make our night vision any better.

So, why the hype about carrots and eyesight? The story goes that, to keep a new type of radar secret, the British government launched a propaganda campaign claiming that pilots were eating lots of carrots to boost their eyesight. It’s not clear whether that was in fact the intention or whether it succeeded in keeping radar under wraps. Either way, 80 years later we’re still saying carrots help to see in the dark. Carrots can last a while in the fridge or freezer, but stories about them last for decades.

You’ve probably read media stories about diet and health that include claims that particular foods that cause, prevent or ‘fight’ cancer. In reality, no single food or ingredient can prevent or ‘fight’ cancer. What we eat day to day is more important for reducing your cancer risk.

Great collaborations

Each vegetable brings its own combination of nutrients to the table, so, like many stars, they’re great when they work together. Filling half of your plate with veg or salad is a great start for a healthy balanced meal, especially if you eat a range of different veg. It might feel easier to think about adding veg than to focus on foods you’re trying to eat less of. 

You can also swap in beans and pulses like lentils, soybeans (including tofu) and chickpeas or egusi (ground melon seeds) for veggie protein if you’re trying to cut down on processed and red meat. And starchy veg like potatoes and plantains are a source of carbohydrates which give us energy – keep the skin on potatoes for a fibre boost too. 

And veggies harmonise on the stage, as well as the plate. The bottle gourd, also known as the calabash, is used in cultures around the world to make percussion, string and wind instruments. There are also entire orchestras who play instruments made from vegetables. CRUK’s patron, King Charles, once played ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ on a recorder made from a carrot. Get down to that beet!

Jet pak choi

When you reach a certain level of stardom, it’s time for a trip to the stars. Scientists on board the International Space Station are researching plant growth in space. For now, crews can be sent prepackaged meals. But, for space missions further away, they’d need to be able to grow their own food. One experiment with pak choi was so successful the astronaut who grew it was able to enjoy some as a side dish with soy sauce and garlic.

Back on Earth, fresh, tinned or frozen veg all count towards our five a day and you don’t have to grow them yourself. Although, if you want to, gardening is a great way of building more exercise into your day. Now, pass the soy sauce and garlic.

Household name 

Wilbur Olin Atwater thought that food’s value was measured in fuel. But it’s so much more than that. Stars become stars because we love what they do. Food is no different – we enjoy it, we share it with the people we care about and we even use it to express ourselves. Veggies do more than fuel and nourish our bodies – they’re part of our emotional, social and cultural lives. It’s time to roll out the red tablecloth and celebrate them.

Julia