Study: Eating These 41 ‘Powerhouse’ Fruits And Vegetables Can Prevent Chronic Disease

veggie sign Is your daily diet full of “Powerhouse” fruits and vegetables? Probably not, unless you regularly munch on watercress, chard or beet greens.


While those foods might not be staples in your refrigerator or pantry, a new study by researchers at William Patterson University takes the guesswork out of which foods you should eat for optimum health, The Washington Post reports.


The study, published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal “Preventing Chronic Disease,”; highlights 41 “Powerhouse fruits and vegetables” ranked by the amounts of 17 critical nutrients they contain.


Topping the list is the superfood watercress. The vegetable packs in a wide variety of important nutrients, resulting in a score of 100 on the researchers’ tests. Rounding out the top five were Chinese cabbage, chard, beet greens and spinach.


Fruits tended to score rather low on the tests. In fact, the highest rated fruit – red pepper – only scored 41.26. Notably absent from the list were a number of berries including raspberries, blueberries and cranberries.


Researchers say that berries, while rich in non-essential nutrients, lacked the recommended intake of certain compounds.


The scores were based on a fruit or vegetable’s content of fiber, potassium, protein, calcium, folate, vitamin B12, vitamin A, vitamin D and other nutrients scientist consider important to one’s health.


To create the list, researchers used each fruit or vegetable’s density score based on the percentage of daily need for each nutrient the food provides.


Researchers hope the list helps consumers make nutrient-dense food selections.


Without further ado, here is the full list of “Powerhouse fruits and vegetables”:

powerhouse


Watercress tops list of ‘Powerhouse fruits and vegetables.’ Who knew? [The Washington Post]




by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

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