When we think about the beneficial properties of fruit and vegetables, we often picture them in all sorts of colours: with their greens, reds, purples, yellows, and oranges, both their nutrient content and their lively colours never cease to amaze us.

However, white vegetables are also bursting with health-promoting properties. Cauliflowers, onions, leeks, white turnips, potatoes, and fennel help the body to fight against “bad” cholesterol and to improve blood pressure. This is thanks to their allicin content, a substance found in garlic in high quantities that possesses powerful antibacterial qualities. Selenium, on the other hand, is a very important antioxidant, which, amongst other things, helps the thyroid to work better and inhibits the production of free radicals that cause cells to age.

But the benefits from white vegetables don’t end there. They are also rich in mineral salts and fibre, which are great for regulating how the intestine works. In particular, the ones that grow underground (such as garlic, shallots, and potatoes) contain a good amount of sulphur, which helps nails and hair to grow and strengthens them too.

What’s more, a study carried out at the University of Zhejiang, in China, and published in the European Journal of Cancer, showed that white vegetables help to protect the stomach. Consuming large quantities of them led to a 33% reduced risk of tumour growth.

A healthy and complete diet needs variety: to stay healthy, we should be eating vegetables of every colour… and that includes white ones too!