10 Most Nutritious Vegetables

Why Are Vegetables So Important?

Some veggies are loaded with nutrients and even have anti aging properties. According to the latest scientific studies, five servings a day of the most nutritious vegetables can not only help you to stay young, healthy and trim, they can also give you spectacular protection against cancer and heart disease.

So scientists keep telling us to eat more fruits and vegetables – five to nine a day. But the vast majority of the population aren’t even getting three, much less nine.

While most vegetables are low in calories and good for your body and overall health, some are definitely a whole lot better than others and offer many more vegetable nutrients.

The Most Nutritious Vegetables

Usually the best way to get your vegetable nutrients is to buy organically grown veggies and eat them raw, lightly steamed or in nutritious soups or stir-fries.

The Top 10 List

1. Green leafy vegetables, such as kale, chard, collard greens, spinach, parsley and dark green and red leaf lettuce are high in carotenoids and best eaten raw in salads, on healthy sandwiches, lightly steamed or in nutritious soups.
2. Broccoli is good steamed, raw (as a snack or in salads) and cooked in soups, stir-fries and other dishes. Both the green flower heads and stalks are nutritious.
3. Brussels sprouts are best quickly steamed to preserve nutritional values and avoid releasing sulfur smells caused by excess cooking.
4. Cauliflower, because of its bland flavor, can be eaten as a raw snack or added inconspicuously to dishes like soups and chili to boost nutritional values.
5. Red and Green Peppers are great in salads and healthy stir-fries.
6. Garlic and Onions are most nutritious eaten raw in salads or healthy dips. But they also make great flavorings for just about any cooked dish.
7. Sweet Potatoes are delicious when baked and eaten plain (without butter). They can also be used in soups and stir-fries.
8. Tomatoes (actually fruit) are good in salads and on sandwiches. Cherry tomatoes make great raw snacks. And pasta sauce is a good source of tomato nutrients.
9. Green Peas are best eaten raw (especially snow peas) or lightly steamed. Add fresh peas to salads (including chicken and pasta salad), soups and stir-fries.
10. Carrots are sweet, high in carotenoids and super when grated into any kind of salad. Baby carrots also make good raw snacks.

5 Good Reasons For Fiber

Why Fiber?

Here Are 5 Good Reasons…..

• Fiber promotes regularity by adding bulk to stool and stimulating the rapid movement of waste through the colon. By serving this purpose, fiber can help prevent bowel problems, including constipation, diverticulosis and hemorrhoids.

• Fiber blocks the absorption of some of the dietary cholesterol and fat you eat, which can lower your numbers and help prevent plaque buildup that can lead to heart attack and stroke.

• Fiber protects against certain cancers, especially in the colon and rectum. Fiber helps “move things along” in the digestive track, reducing the amount of time that stool is present in the intestinal tract. The less time it spends there, the less time bacteria have to metabolize it and produce gasses that may act as carcinogens (cancer-causing agents).

• Fiber can lower fasting blood-sugar levels in diabetics and those at risk for diabetes.

• Fiber may also help you to achieve that one thing that almost everyone wants – weight loss. Not only does fiber help reduce calories by blocking fat absorption, it also acts as an appetite suppressant. The bulk provided by fiber is calorie-free and can make you feel full faster and longer than other foods. Controlling appetite is often one of the most difficult aspects of achieving weight loss, which is certainly a big plus for fiber.