Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables

We all know that consuming vegetables and fruits are highly nutritious and great for our health because they provide us with a concentrated source of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.

Not long ago, a CDC study published at the Center of Disease Control’s Preventing Chronic Disease journal an article aimed to classify the fruits and vegetables that are super foods. The term created for these foods was “Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables” (PFV).

In this paper, PFV are strongly associated with reductions in the risk of developing chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and cancer. Typically these are yellow and orange or green, leafy, cruciferous (from the cabbage family)
vegetables. The classification scheme is based on the nutrient density per 100 calories of each food. More than 17 nutrients were analyzed for each food such as iron, riboflavin, and vitamins B12, B6, and K.

The proposed classification is offered as a tool for dietary guidance and nutrition education. Below is the table of the vegetables and fruits with its nutrient density score, try to add these into your diet, especially the ones with the higher scores.

Item	Nutrient Density Score
Watercress	100.00
Chard	89.27
Chicory	73.36
Romaine lettuce	63.48
Mustard green	61.39
Kale	49.07
Dandelion green	46.34
Broccoli	34.89
Scallion	27.35
Kohlrabi	25.92
Carrot	24.51
Iceberg lettuce	18.28
Strawberry	17.59
Orange	12.91
Rutabaga	11.58
Turnip	11.43
Sweet potato	10.51