What comes in all shapes, colors, and sizes, and can help prevent heart disease, cancer, and obesity? The answer is not some magic diet pill, but vegetables! Even if we have developed chronic diseases as we have aged, vegetables are still a great investment.

Vegetables are low in calories, sodium, and fat, and have no cholesterol. They are high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. These properties of vegetables provide more than enough reasons to eat vegetables every day!

Three to five servings of vegetables are recommended each day. One serving equals 1 cup of raw salad greens, ½ cup of cooked or raw vegetables, or ¾ cup of vegetable juice.

Think about color

Think about the color of vegetables when planning meals. Eat a variety of colors to get a mix of vitamins and minerals. Vitamin A helps prevent dry, cracked skin and night blindness. Good sources of Vitamin A can be found in deep green and dark orange vegetables like broccoli, carrots, greens (collard, kale, mustard, etc.), pumpkin, Romaine lettuce, sweet potatoes, spinach, and winter squash.

Vitamin C keeps the gums and tissues healthy, helps fight infections, and helps heal sores. Vegetables that are good sources of Vitamin C include bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, greens, potatoes with skins, spinach, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes. As you can see, many vegetables are good sources of these two nutrients.

Vegetables are a source of fiber, too. Fiber is the part of plants that cannot be digested or absorbed by the body. Insoluble fiber found in vegetables absorbs water in the intestine, which softens and increases the bulk of the stool, helping to prevent constipation.

Get the most from your vegetables

To increase your consumption of vegetables and receive their nutritional bonus, consider these suggestions:

• Add extras of your favorite vegetables to soups, stews, and casseroles.
• Cook vegetables in the smallest amount of water possible.
• Cook vegetables with their skins or peels on whenever possible.
• Serve both a cooked vegetable and a salad with dinner.
• If vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, or onions cause gas, try Beano® (a food enzyme dietary supplement available in drugstores and supermarkets).
• Cook vegetables until crisp and crunchy. If you have trouble chewing, cook vegetables to a softer stage and mash.

Sources: "Vegetables for Health" by Nellie Hedstrom, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Bulletin #4173, 1997; The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition, University of California at Berkley, 1992; Staying Well, Ohio Department of Aging, 1997; Geriatric Nutrition Patient Education Resource Manual, Aspen Publishers, Inc., 2000.

Poison Ivy

An Irritating Plant

Poison ivy is a woody shrub or vine with hairy looking aerial roots. It grows to 10 feet or more, climbing high on trees, walls and fences, or trails along the ground. All parts of poison ivy, including the roots, are poisonous at all times of the year.


The toxin in poison ivy is an oil which causes an irritating skin reaction on many people. The reaction, an itchy rash with clear blisters, is variable in severity among people, and can vary from year to year on the same individual.

The poison ivy reaction can be reduced if you change clothing immediately and wash the exposed skin with soap and water. If you can wash all the oil off exposed skin within 5 minutes of contact, no reaction will occur. Even water from a running stream is an effective cleanser. The oil from poison ivy can remain active on clothing and footwear as long as a year, so be careful not to expose yourself to the oil again. The oil can also be transmitted on pet fur and in the smoke of burning poison ivy.

You can use various products prior to anticipated exposure or to cleanse exposed skin. However, the best way to avoid the irritating rash is being able to identify poison ivy.

IDENTIFICATION. . .

Poison ivy is commonly confused with other plants. Here are some things to look for to identify poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak:

Poison ivy has small greenish white flowers followed by small, waxy, dullish white berries. Leaves' edges are smooth, jagged or rounded with 3 leaves to a stem. It can be a shrub or a woody vine.

Poison sumac has small greenish flowers followed by somewhat flattened greenish or white gray berries. Leaves are shiny on top and somewhat hairy under. Leaf edges are smooth with 7 to 13 leaves per stem. The stems are often reddish in color and poison sumac can be a shrub or a small tree up to 25 feet.

Poison oak has small yellow-green flowers followed by clusters of small creamy white berries. Leaf edges are more rounded than poison ivy with 3 leaves to a stem. Twigs and underside of leaves are covered with short, soft hair. Poison oak is a low shrub, usually under 3 feet tall.

Resource: Poison ivy: How to identify and control. August, 2000 [On-line].
Available: http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/nathis/plantpage/flora/poivy/index.htm
Campers & hikers: Beware. Texas Department of Health