Populations adapt to their environment over time.
In Europe, plant life has thrived thanks to regular rainfall, ideal sunshine and temperatures that are generally quite favourable. Europeans live in a world that is "green" nearly year round. In fact, our bodies gradually learned not to make any more
Vitamin C than what our diet provided on a regular basis.
We have become "plant-dependent": fruits and
vegetables are now essential to us in order to survive. In addition, plants and vegetables supply
fibre, which is also found in grains.
Some groups of people manage to survive while eating very few vegetables, like Inuits in the Arctic and Touaregs in the desert.
Their bodies have adapted to unfavourable conditions with life expectancies much lower than the European average.
Researchers have shown that, in addition to supplying vitamins and fibre, fruits and vegetables provide us with protective elements called "antioxidants".
They
protect us against the ravages of passing time, and they reduce the likelihood of major illnesses like cancer and heart disease. Therefore,
vegetables are essential for life. Moreover, they contribute to better health for a longer period of time.
