Crunching the numbers - nutrition chart

Vegetarian Times, Oct, 2000 by Cristin Marandino, Jordan Rothacker

Get the most from your veggies with this comprehensive nutrition chart

Unless you live under a rock, you know that eating plenty of fruits and vegetables every day is the best insurance for optimal health. Virtually all major health organizations, including the conservative American Dietetic Association and the American Institute for Cancer Research, acknowledge that a produce-packed diet helps prevent obesity, not to mention major killers such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. But all vegetables are not created equal. Iceberg lettuce, for example, while almost totally noncaloric, lags behind when it comes to key nutrients like folate, and vitamins A, B and C. (You'd do much better reaching for romaine.) And did you know that one artichoke has nearly the same amount of potassium as a banana?

We're certainly not out to vilify any specific vegetable. After all, it's our total diet that makes a difference, not any one specific component. The sad truth is that if you're getting the recommended five servings of any vegetable a day, you're doing better than the majority of the population. But knowing which veggies give you the most nutritional bang for your buck is a huge step toward enhancing your diet. So we've compiled an easy-to-use chart to help you figure out just how many of the necessary nutrients--vitamins and minerals--you're getting when you eat a particular vegetable. Go ahead and clip it and take it along with you to the grocery store. We'll see you in the produce aisle.

(Turn to our charts on pages 115 and 116.)