28 asaNa Magazine | March 2017

P

lants combine water,

carbon dioxide

from the air, and

nutrients from the

soil to synthesize

all the compounds

necessary for animal

life. We live on vegetables whether

we eat them directly or through

animal intermediaries.

Root vegetables such as beets, carrots, parsnips and

turnips are food storage organs and valuable sources of

carbohydrates, stems, such as celery and fennel

conduct nutrients between roots and leaves and in

some plants such as potatoes and water chestnuts,

underground stems have evolved into storehouses for

starch. Vegetables with dark green leaves, including

memebrs of the cabbage family (such as Broccoli,

cauliflower,    collard greens, kale     and     mustard    greens) 

and  spinach,   are  rich    in  antioxidants,  bioflavonoids

and the B vitamins. The leaves of all vegetables are

factories for the production of high-energy sugars

through photosynthesis. They are the most fragile

parts of the plant, which is the reason they shrink more

than other parts when cooked. The leaves of plants in

the  onion  family  have    grown   into     fleshy bulbs   that

store carbohydrates and water to nourish the plant

during  its  next   year     of  growth.    The  flowers    of   some   

ayurvedic

diet Principles

for diabetes