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Page 120
| Collard greens are also one of the best lowcalorie sources of vitamins and minerals. They're high in folic acid and also supply vitamin B 6, both important to regulating blood levels of homocysteine. Studies have shown that people with elevated homocysteine levels are three times likelier to have heart attacks than those with normal levels. Collard greens are high in antioxidant carotenoids, iron, and potassium. They contain calcium, but because collard greens are high in calcium-blocking oxalates, look to other foods for this nutrient. |
| F.Y.I. |
| Buy corn at its peak of maturity, when the kernels are juicy and plump; that's when it's most nutritious. |
| To retain the most nutrients, steam rather than boil corn. |
| Corn |
| Here's one vegetable that many Americans do eat enough of, and that's a very good thing. Corn is high in protease inhibitors, which have been shown to prevent cancer in lab studies. In fact, researchers have found a strong correlation between corn consumption and low death rates from colon, breast, prostate cancer, and heart disease. Corn's a good source of protein and simple and complex carbohydrates, which provide both short- and long-term energy. An ear of white corn also contains four grams of soluble fiber; yellow corn contains half as much. Both kinds offer plentiful thiamin, the B vitamin that's essential for converting food to energy. |
| Corn Oil: Friend or Foe? |
| Corn oil is high in polyunsaturated fat and has long been known to lower cholesterol better than other vegetable oils. However, unlike olive oil, it also lowers levels of ''good" HDL cholesterol, and so is not considered as good a heart-protective choice. |
| Eggplant |
| Eggplant is a member of the healthful solanaceae family, along with tomatoes and peppers; all three contain terpenes, phytonutrients that may help deactivate hormones |
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