Ladies Choice - nutritional aspects of various vegetables; includes recipes - includes related article on vegetable color

Vegetarian Times, July, 1999 by Elizabeth Hiser

Delicious ways to get the five healthiest foods into your diet

If you wanted to learn which foods were the best for you, you could take a class, read a book or you could follow a registered dietitian through the supermarket and see what lands in her shopping cart. If that dietitian happened to be me, you would find broccoli, tofu, canned tomatoes, garlic and flaxseeds in there. These aren't random selections. In light of the latest findings on diet and health, I consider those foods to be nutritional superstars, especially for women. Here's why.

Broccoli

This is probably the most perfect vegetable on earth, yet for years I secretly agreed with George Bush: It really didn't taste that good. But as a nutritionist who practices what she preaches, I ate it anyway: steamed broccoli, week after week, month after month, year after year. Then I had a "eureka" moment and became more adventurous, cooking it with roasted red peppers, in curries and with tofu and shiitakes.

In recent years, research has revealed broccoli to be even more healthful than originally thought. A member of the cabbage family, it's a source of cancer-fighting phytochemicals called indoles, one of which is believed to help estrogen to change into a form less likely to promote breast cancer.

Broccoli is also a source of sulphoraphane, another potent cancer fighter. And because of its rich variety of nutrients--including vitamin C, folate, iron and trace minerals--this green vegetable was at the top of the nutrient density charts long before its role in fighting cancer was even known.

Tofu

The most versatile of all soy products, tofu is another phytonutrient gold mine. It's rich in protein and minerals (particularly calcium and iron) while its fat profile (low in saturated fat, high in polyunsaturated fat) keeps it from boosting blood cholesterol. But it is tofu's wealth of cancer-fighting phytoestrogens that inspires me to make it a regular part of my diet.

Researchers believe that soy's phytoestrogens--genistein, diadzein, isoflavonoids and lignans--are some of the most important disease-fighting compounds one can get from food. In cross-cultural population studies, the link between diets rich in phytoestrogens and lower rates of cancers of the breast, colon, endometrium and ovaries is strong and consistent. Regular consumption of soy products also appears to protect against heart disease, far and away the biggest killer of American women.

Garlic

As a medicinal food, garlic has a long and honorable history dating back to Egyptian medical scrolls of 1550 B.C. Today, modern science is finally supporting its salubrious reputation. Studies show that garlic has a beneficial effect on blood fats by lowering the LDL ("bad") cholesterol without affecting the level of HDL ("good") cholesterol. It also seems to have an effect on the growth of certain cancer cells. There's some debate as to just how potent these effects actually are, but even skeptics concede that eating garlic on a regular basis is good for you. There are also conflicting reports about what form of garlic is most beneficial. The most compelling research suggests that it doesn't have to be eaten raw to be effective.

I've been using generous amounts of garlic in cooking for a long time. But my garlic consumption took a sharp leap when I learned how to roast garlic; which transforms the "stinking rose" into a smooth, sweet, buttery paste. And there is no limit to what you can do with roasted garlic: My personal favorites include adding it to mashed potatoes and salad dressing and simply spreading it on bread.

Canned Tomatoes

Lycopene, a carotenoid cousin of beta-carotene, is what gives tomatoes their red color. But the beauty here is far more than skin-deep. Lycopene is also a powerful antioxidant that has been linked with protection against cancers of the breast, cervix, prostate, lungs and digestive tract.

The real benefit comes from eating tomatoes in the cooked form: as pasta sauce, tomato soup or even on pizza--good news indeed! Apparently, canning's heat processing releases the lycopene from within the cell wall. Best of all, it appears that the pizza gods have been smiling on us all along: A little fat (say, a touch of olive oil) enhances the absorption of fat-soluble lycopene even further.

Flaxseed

Flaxseed is the richest plant source of omega-3 fatty acids, the subject of exciting new nutrition research. A growing number of scientists believe that omega-3s have profound positive effects on human health; the problem, they say, is that our modern food supply is far lower in them than the diet we evolved on. At the same time, our diet is much higher in omega-6 fatty acids, which compete with omega-3s to be converted to biologically active compounds that are necessary for life. The compounds derived from omega-3s are needed for regulating functions of the brain, heart and immune system. When omega-3s are too low and omega-6s are too high, health problems ranging from depression, stroke and arthritis are more likely to occur.