What Is the Difference Between Fruits and Vegetables? Understanding the Differences Between the Two in One Article
Fruits and vegetables contain most of the nutrients our bodies need. Their common characteristics are high water content, low protein and fat content, and a variety of vitamins, among which vitamin C and carotene are relatively high; in addition, they also contain dietary fiber, various organic acids, aromatic substances, and so on. So, what is the difference between fruits and vegetables?
1. What is the difference between fruits and vegetables?
In botany, vegetables broadly refer to different parts of a plant; fruits, however, refer to the seed-bearing plant organ of a plant. Vegetables are rich in cellulose, as well as vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, and are a main nutritional source for maintaining human life and growth. As for most fruits, although they contain vitamins, the carbohydrates they contain are mostly composed of monosaccharides and disaccharides such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose.
2. Properties of Common Fruits and Vegetables
Common cold-natured fruits include: banana, sugarcane, watermelon, Hami melon, kiwifruit, persimmon, pomelo, mulberry, and muskmelon; cool-natured ones include: pear, apple, orange, coconut, loquat, water chestnut, and star fruit; neutral-natured ones include: mandarin orange, grape, lemon, kumquat, plum, pineapple, strawberry, mango, hawthorn, gorgon nut, fig, olive, ginkgo, pine nut, lotus seed, torreya nut, and hazelnut; warm-natured ones include: peach, longan, lychee, jujube, walnut kernel, plum, bayberry, pomegranate, and Chinese chestnut; hot-natured ones include: apricot, durian, and cherry.
Common cold-natured vegetables include: Chinese cabbage, arrowhead, bamboo shoot, wild rice stem, water chestnut, lotus root (raw), tomato (raw), bitter melon, and rock ear; cool-natured ones include: celery, eggplant, cucumber, winter melon, sponge gourd, and mushroom; neutral-natured ones include: green vegetables, cabbage, crowndaisy chrysanthemum, alfalfa, onion, Chinese yam, lily, carrot, potato, goji berry, bottle gourd, northern gourd, black fungus, shiitake mushroom, white fungus, hyacinth bean, pea, cowpea, lotus root (cooked), and tomato (cooked); warm-natured ones include: Chinese chive, leaf mustard, scallion, garlic, ginger, kohlrabi, konjac, asparagus, pumpkin, golden squash, and sword bean; hot-natured ones include: chili pepper.