5 Veggies You Should Be Eating

A healthy kitchen promotes variety, especially when it comes to vegetables. For optimum health, keep your pantry stocked with produce that covers the whole spectrum of colors, including the following:

1. Onions: This classic, pungent vegetable adds flavor to any meal. Allicin, a phytonutrient found in most varieties of onions, may be responsible for its health benefits, including lowering cholesterol and blood pressure.
2. Garlic: This fragrant bulb contains many of the same phytonutrients as onions, as well as antibiotic and antiviral compounds. It may help boost the immune system, prevent colds, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and fight fungal or yeast infections.
3. Spinach: This dark leafy green (and others like it, such as kale and collards) contains lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidant carotenoids that may help prevent cataracts and macular degeneration. Spinach is also a source of calcium and folate, a B vitamin that helps to prevent birth defects. Buy organic spinach, since pesticides are commonly used on conventionally grown varieties.
4. Cabbage: This low-cost yet highly nutritious cruciferous vegetable contains nutrients called indoles, which may protect against both breast and prostate cancer. It also provides significant amounts of fiber and vitamin C.
5. Sweet potatoes: Rich in beta carotene, these vegetables may help boost the immune system, deliver vitamin C and folate (which may reduce the risk of heart disease and prevent certain birth defects), and are low on the glycemic index and glycemic load charts.

Comments

[Kerri]

Delightful and EASY !!!

[Jennie]

Thanks for the roundup. A good reminder!

[Markos]

I totaly agree, I love onions and garlic, but can you please give advice on how to get rid of after smell, I am losing my friends one by one!! :)
I tried every kind of mouth wash, I also tried eating parsley but the onion and garlic smell stays.

[moderator44@drweil.com]

Markos: Do you mean on your breath?
As Dr. Weil says: If you don't like the smell of garlic on your hands, rub some salt on them to remove it.
And if you eat garlic whole, btw, Dr. Weil says the smell does not stay on your breath.
Have you tried fennel seeds rather than parsley?
Pop a few in the mouth and let us know if that helped?

[Markos]

To Moderator44,
I was referring to breath smell!!
I did try to eat garlic whole by swalloing it, but I thought the point is to crush trhe garlic so it mixes with air and one gets the benifits of allicin?
In general I am more concerned with the breath smell after eating raw onions, I tried chewing fennel seeds, I also tried cardamon but neither helped
I do appreciate it if you can find any other way to eliminate the onion effect on breath.
Thanks

[moderator44@drweil.com]

Hi Markos
Dr. Weil says whole garlic is good.
And other than parsley and fennel seeds we have no suggestions from him.
Maybe someone else can chime in here?

[Rebecca]

Hi -- I have been making a concerted effort to increase my intake of vegetables and fruits. I invested in a juicing machine that retains all of the pulp (nothing is taken from what is put in the juicer). My question is -- can I healthily juice all of these vegetables and eat them raw? I add apples, carrots, berries and other fruits too.

THANKS! I have been following you for years Dr. Weil and admire your efforts towards integrative medicine.