Written by Josephine Tutrani, MS/RD/CDN Friday, June 12, 2015
Sorry to break it to you Kale, but according to a CDC study on “powerhouse fruits and vegetables” the often overlooked and wimpy looking leafy green called watercress has the highest nutrient density of any food around.
The nutrient density study measured the percentage of a recommended daily value of 17 key nutrients contained in a 100-gram sample of each food. Some of these key nutrients measured were fiber, iron, folate and vitamin C. Each food was scored on a scale of 0-100 with 100 being the highest.
Based on this system, Watercress scored a perfect 100 as the most nutrient dense fruit or vegetable followed by Chinese cabbage (92), chard (90), beet greens (87) and spinach (86) to round out the top five. Surprisingly, Kale, the highly acclaimed smoothie base we all know and “love”, came in 15th with a score of just 49. The full CDC list of foods can be viewed here.
The CDC study was conducted to help people make more informed and healthy dietary choices. The study does not mean we should all go out and fill up our feedbags with pounds of watercress, but instead incorporate a variety of these nutrient dense foods into our diets for every meal of the day.
If you or a loved one are interested in learning how to begin living healthier today, give me a call at 516-627-4433!
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