5 More Vegetables To Add To Your Diet

1 min

This tip is courtesy of Dr. Weil on Healthy Aging: Your Online Guide to the Anti-Inflammatory Diet. For more nutrition and health guidance, start your 14-day free trial now!

Last Friday’s Daily Tip covered five of my favorite healthy vegetables – today I present the rest of the list. I recommend keeping your kitchen stocked with each of these as they come into season:

1. Beets. The deep red color of these root vegetables comes from anthocyanins, phytonutrients that protect against damage from carcinogens and may help prevent heart disease. Beets are versatile, inexpensive, and delicious hot or cold.
2. Squash. With a wide variety of types, flavors, shapes, and sizes, squash is readily adaptable to any occasion – it can even be used in pie! It provides beta-carotene, potassium, and fiber, nutrients that are necessary for good overall health.
3. Tomatoes. This red fruit (often considered a vegetable) contains lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that helps fight heart disease and possibly some types of cancer, particularly prostate cancer. Use tomatoes in everything from salads to sauces, but know that lycopene is most easily absorbed when the tomatoes are cooked and eaten with a little fat, such as extra virgin olive oil.
4. Broccoli. This vegetable-platter classic, along with other cruciferous vegetables, offer cancer-protective benefits. Broccoli is also a good source of vitamin K and calcium – both of which help keep bones strong. It is tasty both raw and cooked, and can be a stand out in soups, casseroles, and salads. Try roasting it in the oven with olive oil and a touch of sea salt, you may never go back.
5. Mushrooms. Prized for their tonic effects, mushrooms can help address a host of illnesses. Maitake mushrooms (known as “hen of the woods” for their resemblance to the fluffed tail feathers of a nesting hen) are particularly valued in Asian cooking, as they have anti-cancer, anti-viral and immune-enhancing properties, and may also reduce blood pressure and blood sugar. Shiitake, enokidake and oyster mushrooms also have immune-boosting qualities, and are easily included in many main courses.

Today’s Health Topics

Editor's Pick

• Want To Make Homemade Ginger Tea?

Health Focus

• Heart

Ask Dr. Weil's Q&A

• Hormone Replacement Therapy For Heart Health?

Start Eating Anti-Inflammatory And Save 30%! A healthy lifestyle and following Dr. Weil's Anti-Inflammatory Diet can help reduce the risk of age-related concerns such as heart disease, Alzheimer's and many forms of cancer, as well as help promote a healthy immune system. Begin your 14-day free trial of Dr. Weil on Healthy Aging for access to anti-inflammatory shopping guides, eating tips, recipes, interactive tools, videos and more.