What are vegetable pills and vegetable candies? Can they replace green vegetables?

Many people who do not like to eat vegetables turn to vegetable pills and vegetable candies as a solution to supplement fiber. However, do these functional foods really work as advertised?

People choose to buy vegetables and fruits in the supermarket - Illustration photo: Q. DINH

Instead of eating vegetables, you eat candy and "drink" vegetable pills?

Recently, on social networks, many people have appeared selling fiber supplement pills and candies for all ages, in the form of functional foods. These pills come in many different types, and can be imported or hand-carried.

Vegetable pills or vegetable candies belong to the group of food supplements with advertisements that the nutritional ingredients are extracted from vegetables, tubers, fruits and some other ingredients (depending on the manufacturer).

To "explode" about the uses of this product, many places also advertise that this is a pill used by many Japanese people, because they are always busy, so this is a convenient and safe solution to supplement fiber.

It is known that the prices of these products are not cheap, ranging from over 100,000 VND to several hundred thousand VND/product depending on the type. On average, each of these pills costs as much as a bunch of vegetables sold at the market.

Or recently, many celebrities also advertised a brand of vegetable candy. The advertisements announced nutritional content, including fiber content, after a period of time when customers accused them of being ambiguous and suspicious.

Many parents admit that their children have difficulty eating vegetables, especially dark green ones like kale, spinach, broccoli, etc. Some studies show that children tend to reject the color green because of an ancient survival instinct, when this color is often associated with the bitter taste of wild plants.

However, according to Dr. Ngo Thi Xuan Bich (Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Da Nang Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital), nothing can replace fresh vegetables in a child's diet. Parents need to be persistent in feeding their children vegetables from the weaning stage, helping them get used to the taste and texture of food. If children do not like green vegetables, they can be replaced with vegetables of other colors such as red amaranth, pumpkin, carrots, or fresh fruits and vegetables.

Dr. Bich affirmed that this is a misconception. "Vegetable candy cannot replace fresh vegetables. The fiber and vitamins in vegetables help with better digestion and support intestinal motility. If children get used to eating vegetable candy but do not eat fresh vegetables, parents will have difficulty building a balanced diet for their children," said Dr. Bich.

Vegetable candy is advertised heavily in the livestream sales session - Photo: KERA

Can it really replace green vegetables?

Sharing the same opinion, MSc. Tran Thi Thanh - in charge of the nutrition department, Da Nang Oncology Hospital - also recommends that it is not necessary to use vegetable pills if the diet is already nutritious enough.

"We do not recommend the use of tablets, but always prioritize fresh vegetables and fruits. In addition to providing vitamins and minerals, vegetables and fruits also contain large amounts of fiber, which helps nourish the intestinal microflora.

When the intestinal microflora develops well, children will have a healthy immune system. Meanwhile, chewable tablets or dietary supplements do not have enough of this important fiber component," said Dr. Thanh.

Dr. Thanh also noted that a normal person needs about 25-30g of fiber per day, while vegetable pills require eating a lot of pills to get enough fiber, but in fact if the diet is adequate, there is no need to supplement.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lam - former deputy director of the National Institute of Nutrition - said that natural fiber from vegetables, tubers, and fruits plays a very important role in health, and nothing can replace it. Fiber helps prevent chronic diseases such as: cardiovascular disease, overweight and obesity, diabetes, constipation, cancer...

Foods high in fiber make us feel full quickly, reducing our appetite for other foods. Fiber in foods promotes digestion, helps to expel waste from the body more quickly and thus reduces the presence of toxins in the body.

Nutritionists liken fiber to a broom that helps clean the digestive tract. Foods rich in fiber also contain many antioxidants that are very good for the body.

Besides, vegetables also provide other vitamins such as vitamin C, K, folate, beta-carotene and flavonoids...

The National Institute of Nutrition also recommends that Vietnamese people consume 480 - 560g of vegetables and fruits per day (equivalent to 6-7 units of vegetables and fruits, each unit is 80g), of which vegetable consumption is 240 - 320g per day and ripe fruit consumption is 240g per day.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vien-rau-cu-keo-rau-la-gi-co-thay-the-duoc-rau-xanh-khong-20250306110436166.htm