Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [vegetables]

14 questions
48
votes
3 answers

Are vegetables good for me?

From a young age, most people are told that vegetables are really good for you and you must eat them... But why? If I eat loads of vegetables for a week, and then the next week I eat nothing but burgers and fries I don't feel in the slightest bit…
BG100
  • 583
  • 4
  • 7
15
votes
1 answer

Are tomatoes carnivorous?

New research shows that [tomatoes] capture and kill small insects with sticky hairs on their stems and then absorb nutrients through their roots when the animals decay and fall to the ground. It is thought that the technique was developed in…
user7920
14
votes
0 answers

Do people always think of the same vegetable?

Think of the number six. Now - name a vegetable! It is claimed that people, when asked for a random vegetable, will typically pick the same one. (Spoiler below. Once you have guessed, click or hover over the box below.) carrot Claim…
Green Noob
  • 2,489
  • 1
  • 21
  • 29
14
votes
2 answers

Do fruits and vegetables sold in supermarkets taste worse than those grown on local farms?

It is a common belief that the produce sold at American supermarkets is "bland" and "tasteless". For example, the article "EVER WONDER WHY MODERN PRODUCE IS SO TASTELESS?" mentions that: They look great, but the taste is lacking—why? After living…
JonathanReez
  • 10,917
  • 11
  • 51
  • 102
12
votes
1 answer

Are frozen vegetables typically healthier to buy and eat than fresh ones?

I've been told that frozen vegetables are frozen soon after harvest and as such don't get sprayed with as much preservatives. I'm also told fresh vegetables are sprayed with extra preservatives so they'll look better in the store. I tested the…
Kit Sunde
  • 18,636
  • 12
  • 93
  • 127
12
votes
2 answers

Did audiences throw tomatoes at performers they disliked?

There is a frequent trope in movies and television where audiences throw rotten tomatoes at performers they don't like (for instance, the Onceler in the Lorax has tomatoes thrown at him). This goes back quite a ways in fiction; I seem to remember…
Brian Rushton
  • 255
  • 3
  • 7
10
votes
1 answer

Does produce lose much of its nutrients just a few days after harvest?

The Chicago Tribune has reported in 2013 that Most produce loses 30 percent of nutrients three days after harvest I've seen an ad a few times recently that says "Produce loses most of its nutrients just a few days after harvest". I found this hard…
TecBrat
  • 547
  • 4
  • 13
9
votes
0 answers

Are today's vegetables so much nutrient poor compared to vegetables from many years ago?

On the web there is plenty of material like this one claiming that the vegetables we buy today are much less nutritious than vegetables from 40/70/100 years ago. 8 oranges today have the same nutrients as 1 orange 100 years ago There is also…
heapOverflow
  • 191
  • 1
9
votes
1 answer

Are vegetables, grains and fruit an important part of a healthy diet?

Western nutritionists recommend that a substantial part of a healthy diet include fruit, vegetables and grains. e.g. Nutrition Australia's Healthy Eating Pyramid (via Vuly): Click to enlarge. Harvard University's Healthy Eating Plate Click to…
Allan
  • 99
  • 4
8
votes
3 answers

How legit is this graph of heart disease and cancer vs unrefined plant foods?

Unrefined Plant Food Consumption vs. The Killer Diseases I insist that our low consumption of unrefined plant foods is largely responsible for our dismal mortality statistics. Most of us perish prematurely as a result of our dietary…
endolith
  • 3,289
  • 5
  • 32
  • 38
7
votes
0 answers

Does contact with metal surfaces reduce the vitamin levels of vegetables?

I have heard that cutting or grating vegetables with metal tools somehow reduces the vitamin content (or as it is sometimes stated "it kills the vitamins"). There are also commercials, which advocate glass or ceramic tools for preserving vitamins. I…
AlexSee
  • 71
  • 4
5
votes
1 answer

Will asparagus make your pee attract fish?

According to this website: He discovered that tinned asparagus was included as part of the emergency ration kit given to American pilots in the Pacific Ocean region, who were working for the US spy organization called the Office of Strategic…
Casebash
  • 10,199
  • 5
  • 55
  • 84
2
votes
0 answers

Does carrying or consuming onions help to prevent heatstroke and/or reduce your body temperature?

Will consuming onions help to reduce your body temperature, or prevent heatstroke? Some common variations of this claim include applying onion juice to your skin, or even just carrying an onion in your pocket, hat, or even a bag (yes, that is…
RToyo
  • 1,197
  • 1
  • 8
  • 20
1
vote
0 answers

Does baking soda help reducing pesticides from fruits and vegetables?

It seems to be effective with some pesticides on apples: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jafc.7b03118 I cannot find other studies related to other fruits and vegetables.
bart
  • 413
  • 4
  • 6