when they talk to us Healthy Diet we usually think immediately light meal Due to which we do not get too many calories. He energy value of a food It is important to classify it as more or less healthy, it is true, but above all it is its nutritional value And including it in a diet that is overall balanced. What is not good for our health is that we increase our consumption of low-calorie products if their nutritional contribution is low.
For this reason, scientists at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have classified fruits and vegetables according to their nutritional density to determine which ones are best to include in our regular diets. And what is the nutritional density of a food, This is the amount of micronutrients present in proportion to its calorie content. And green leafy vegetables dominate the ranking.
Nutritional Density of Vegetables
According to the parameters of the United Nations Department of Food and Agriculture, 17 nutrients are considered essential for health: fiber, protein, potassium, calcium, iron, zinc, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folate and vitamins A, B. 6 B. 12 C, D, E and K.
With this and taking into account the availability and assimilation of each nutrient by the body, its nutritional density is calculated. This is a ranking of the 10 foods with the highest nutritional density, i.e. the healthiest:
Eat | Nutritional Density (%) |
---|---|
water hyacinth | 100 |
Chinese cabbage | 91, 99 |
chard | 89.27 |
beet greens | 87.08 |
spinach | 86.43 |
chicory | 73.36 |
lettuce leaves | 70.73 |
parsley | 65.59 |
romaine lettuce | 63.48 |
green cabbage | 62.49 |
5 healthiest foods in the world
Of the top 10 vegetables with the highest nutritional density, we highlight the first 5, of which we tell you all their benefits and how to use them in everyday cooking.