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Eat the Top 10 Healthiest Vegetables Ever
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In order to have a healthy body, everyone knows you must eat your veggies. Your daily quota is five to nine servings, and sometimes it’s hard to fit that into a single day’s food. It’s important that you do so, however, to keep your immune system up to par to battle cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
Information gathered from the USDA National Nutrient Database rated the world’s most popular veggies by their fiber, vitamin, potassium, lutein, and calorie count. Some veggies topped out with more than a whopping 1,000 points! Others, however, well, let’s just say that, with a score of less than 54 points, iceberg lettuce should hide its head (yes, pun intended) in shame.
Want to find out which veggies are the healthiest, which ones give you the most bang for your serving buck, so to speak? Aren’t you dying to find out if your favorite veggie makes the cut? Check out which vegetables top the list right here. Let’s start our way from the bottom and work our way up to the number one powerhouse vegetable.
10.Carrots
Almost everyone loves carrots. One little veggie is only 30 calories and comes packed with fiber, vitamin C, tons of vitamin A, and lutein.
Adding fruits and veggies that are full of lutein to your diet can lower your risk of heart disease and vitamin A can keep your skin and hair, as well as keeping your vision, in tip top shape.
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9. Radishes
Raw radishes, sometimes called the Italian chicory, has a score of 467 points but two cups of this peppery little guy is a mere 20 calories.
Radishes are another veggie that’s full of lutein, Vitamin K and C, along with potassium.
If you find radishes have a slightly bitter or are too spicy for you tastes, try roasting or grilling them.
Now radishes get their number 9 rating only when raw but if you should decide to roast them, no one will know but you and your little Italian chicory.
8. Sweet Potatoes
You knew this is going to be on the list, didn’t you? Sweet potatoes are just too good to be left off the list.
This little gold bomb comes in with a score of 492.
This is due to the huge amounts of vitamin C, fiber, potassium, and magnesium that one little potato contains.
Healthy eaters know that sweet potatoes are sweet news to your body and your taste buds.
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7. Mustard Greens
How can this be above the sweet potato, you are asking yourself right about now? Well, it could be because mustard greens have a mere 10 calories per serving but they contain tons of vitamins.
These greens have been called one of the world’s healthiest foods; full of lutein, vitamin D, K, and fiber.
These super greens are found in one form or another all over the world, not just in soul food, so look for them in Italian, Indian, Chinese, and African cuisine as well.
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6. Canned Pumpkin
What? Another orange veggie? What is it with orange and healthy anyway?
Besides being great Jack O Lanterns, pumpkins rate a big 577 points for their potassium, vitamin K, vitamin C, and fiber.
You can do more with canned pumpkin than make pies, so get baking, and you, too, can be eating one of the top 6 healthiest vegetables in the world.
Read how pumpkin can reduce the risk of ALzheimer’s.
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5. Turnip Greens
Ok, from orange we are turning back to green. With a score of 714 points, these green little goodies are loaded with vitamin K, lutein, vitamin C and fiber.
In case you were looking for potassium, nope, no free ride for potassium on the turnip green trail.
No matter how you choose to cook them, these nutrient packed powerhouses are a sure fire winner.
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4. Swiss Chard
We are still riding the green train here.
With an impressive score of 717 points, these leafy veggies have it all. Vitamin K, C, lutein, fiber, potassium, protein, as well as minerals.
Although this has been around for decades, it’s not common in the USA.
Try roasting the leaves first to mellow out the bitter taste of this vegetable.
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3. Collard Greens
More greens, folks, let’s hope this is your favorite color.
This is generally eaten down south but you don’t have to come from that part of the USA to enjoy the taste.
Full of fiber, potassium, vitamin C, lutein, and vitamin K, there is no reason to avoid this tasty green.
They have a mere 20 calories per serving so add some into your meals and be sure to serve some to the chill’un.
See more why you can’t and won’t lose weight.
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2. Raw Spinach
We are still green, my friends.
Spinach has a huge 968 points which shouldn’t surprise anyone. Loaded with a long list of nutrients such as selenium, omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, niacin, iron, vitamin B2, calcium, potassium, vitamin B6, magnesium, folate, vitamin A, lutein, vitamin C, E, K, and folic acid, you should be finding ways to sneak in some spinach into every meal possible.
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1. Kale
Who is the king of veggies? You got it, kale.
Kicking all other veggies to the curb with an unbelievable score of 1,392 points, it’s no wonder it takes first prize. Although it’s been around for ages, it just recently has made its way to the popularity platter since chefs discovered that by rubbing salt and olive oil into this vegetable, it makes it much more palatable.
So pile up on the kale and keep your plate green.
Filled with those great, healthy vegetable greens, we mean.
