
Everywhere you turn for guidance on nutrition, you will find strong recommendations to eat more of a plant-based diet. But did you know that the many varieties of vegetables have fantastic healing properties? Eating a diet rich in vegetables (and fruits) can improve your quality of life. Eating healthy is especially important if you have a chronic condition like Turner Syndrome (TS).
This article will explore all you need to know about vegetables. Learn about their origin, nutrients, and how they can help improve your overall health and TS-related challenges.

Origins of Vegetables
"vegetable: a usually herbaceous plant (such as the cabbage, bean, or potato) grown for an edible part that is usually eaten as part of a meal"
Merriam-Webster dictionary
Here is where some of your favorite veggies came from:
- Pumpkins and squashes originated from northeastern Mexico and eastern North America.
- Carrots came from Afghanistan and Central Asia around 300 B.C.
- The original potato variations can be found in Chile and Peru (specifically in the Andes highlands).
- Broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, collard greens, and a few other vegetables came from one plant–Brassica Oleracea– found in Europe’s Mediterranean and Southeastern regions.
- Lentils came from the Near/Middle East region.
- Eggplants originated in India.
- Three areas are credited for the pea’s origins: a region from NW India to Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Ethiopia.
- Spinach is said to have originated from Persia (today Iran).
What Veggies Can Do for Your Health
Whether your veggies come from a garden, a produce stand, or your local grocery store, eat the colors of the rainbow! Consuming a variety of vegetables carries a range of benefits that will make you be healthier and feel better. Here are some ways that eating veggies can help you overcome your health challenges:
Heart
Heart disease affects between 23 and 50% of those with TS. Veggies with potassium, like parsnips, tomatoes, and broccoli, can help keep the body’s blood stable and the heart healthy. Also, vegetables with fiber, like Brussels sprouts, can help lower your body’s cholesterol. Fiber reduces your risk of getting hypertension, a heart disease risk that affects 13 to 58% of those with TS. Having a healthy diet with lots of veggies with these nutrients helps reduce high blood pressure, cholesterol, and heart disease.
Eyes, Ears, and Teeth
- Thirty-five percent of the those with TS are affected by vision challenges like myopia (40% of this 35%) and ptosis (16%). Eating veggies with nutrients that help your eye health is crucial. For example, vitamin A, which allows the corneas to protect themselves from germs and take in light, is in veggies like asparagus, collard greens, and lettuce.
- One-third of those with TS are affected by hearing challenges. Potassium helps regulate the body’s liquids, including the ears’ fluids that help you hear. Folate, contained in vegetables like lentils and kale, maintains your ear’s circulation. Additionally, magnesium, which can be found in veggies like butternut squash and artichokes, helps keep the bones in the inner ear strong.
- Many people with TS are affected by dental health challenges. Some include having very thin, loose, or weak teeth, So eat veggies with nutrients that help your dental health. For example, bell peppers and cucumbers have vitamin C, which helps strengthen and maintain the teeth and gums.
Liver
Around 80% of those with TS have liver health challenges. Protein, found in legumes like lentils and beans, can help keep your liver healthy. Magnesium, betalains, and vitamin B3 are other nutrients that help maintain your liver health. The betalains in veggies like beetroots help the body reduce inflammation. Also, vitamin B3, found in mushrooms and asparagus, helps the liver and digestive system increase their metabolism and improve the body’s breakdown of nutrients.
Small changes can make a big difference!
Tips for Making Eating Vegetables Fun
Here are some tips that can help eating veggies more enjoyable:
- Have a nice, colorful variety of veggies and fruits on your plate. This will ensure that you have have a nice variety of health benefits, as well as a visually appealing plate.
- Make unhealthy foods in your home harder to access, so you will be less likely to eat them.
- Make veggie and fruit snacks easily accessible to eat whenever you are a little hungry. You will be more likely to eat healthier foods more often.
- Whenever you want to rewrd yourself for an accomplishment, try a healthier but still tasty snack. Instead of a chip and dip combo, try a hummus or salsa dip with veggies.
- Try to pre-prep veggies so whenever you want to cook with them, they’re available and convenient. For instance, frozen veggies are simple to prepare, since they are already washed and chopped.
- Be creative and have fun with how you cook your veggies. Try stir-frying them, turn them into noodles, grill them, or puree them. Cooking veggies differently from your usual cooking style will help you improve your cooking skills. It will also make eating your veggies more enjoyable.
- You can also incorporate veggies into things you like, such as smoothies, soups, and sandwiches. You will enjoy eating veggies more and not get tired of eating them the same way.
- Have fun using spices on your vegetables to improve their taste.
Finding New Recipes
Cauliflower Rice – Substituting cauliflower in rice recipes – Pete Evans
GBOMBS – Greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries, seeds – Joel Fuhrman
Kale is among the most nutrient dense foods on the planet-Lemon-Garlic Kale Salad Recipe – NYT Cooking (nytimes.com)
Conclusion
Vegetables are wonderful for helping you improve your overall health and overcome your TS-related health challenges. Even if you are not a veggie enthusiast, there are many ways to make eating them more enjoyable. We hope that you learned some tips that can help you improve your health, overcome your health challenges, and protect yourself from various health risks.
Written by Elizabeth Rivera, TSF Blog Content Coordinator. Edited by Ruchika Srivastava, TSF volunteer blog editor, and Susan Herman, TSF volunteer lead blog editor.
Do you have a good resource for adding a variety of plant-based foods to your diet? If so, please share your resource in the comment section below. Thank you!
Sources
Clinical Sources
TSF Resources
- Merriam Webster Dictionary-Vegetable
- Harvard Women’s’ Health-5 foods to eat to help your heart
- Pop Science- Domestication Saved Pumpkins And Squash From Extinction
- Proceedings from USA’s National Academy of Sciences-Gourds and squashes (Cucurbita spp.) adapted to megafaunal extinction and ecological anachronism through domestication
- Carrot Museum-History of Carrots:A brief summary and timeline
- American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Science Magazine-The Secret History of the Potato
- Northern Arizona University-Plant Origins
- Royal Botanic Gardens’ Kew Science-Brassica oleracea L.
- Purdue Center for New Crops and Plant Products-Lentil
- University of North Carolina’s Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies-Where Is the Middle East?
- The University of Arizona’s Master Gardener Journal -The Elegant Eggplant
- Texas A&M University-Garden Peas and Spinach from the Middle East
- ScienceDirect-Spinach: an overview
- My Plate-Vegetables
- Produce for Better Health Foundation-Key Nutrients in Fruits & Vegetables
- Insider- The fascinating origins of 14 popular vegetables
- Produce for Better Health Foundation (2)-Fiber
- University of Illinois Chicago-Eat Fruits and Veggies for A Healthy Smile
- Produce for Better Health Foundation-Vitamin C
- Folate-Produce for Better Health Foundation(3)
- CapTel-Foods That Promote Hearing Health
- Healthy Hearing-Foods that boost hearing: Be mindful of your minerals
- Healthline-11 Foods That Are Good for Your Liver
- Children’s Health-How to Get Kids to Eat Vegetables
- Harvard’s Health Publishing-13 ways to add fruits and vegetables to your diet
- Lemon-Garlic Kale Salad Recipe – NYT Cooking
- Cauliflower Rice-Pete Evans
- Food Revolution Network-GBOMBS: An Easy Way to Remember The 6 Healthiest Foods on The Planet You Should Be Eating to Prevent Disease and Thrive
- Harvard Women’s’ Health-5 foods to eat to help your heart
- Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health Vegetables and Fruits
- New Mexico State University’s College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences-The Vegetable Group: Vary Your Veggies
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia-Making Heart Healthy Food that Your Kids Will Love
- Australia’s Victorian State Government-Fruit and vegetables
- NHS-Vitamins and Minerals
- NIH: US National Library of Medicine’s Medline Plus
- American Optometric Association-Vitamin A beneficial for eyes, just not for preventing myopia
- The National Eye Institute-Cornea Structure Layers and Function
- University of Illinois Chicago-Eat Fruits and Veggies for A Healthy Smile
- Queensland Government-Nutrition in Chronic Liver Disease
- University of Michigan- Vitamins: Their Functions and Sources
- Pub Med Central- Betalains in Some Species of the Amaranthaceae Family: A Review by Maria Graça Miguel