Champion of Veggies: The World’s Healthiest Vegetable
A group of experts in agriculture and nutrition have recently identified the healthiest vegetable in the world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) use nutrition density scores to measure the levels of essential vitamins and minerals in various vegetables. While vegetables like spinach, chard, and beet greens usually score around 80, one stands out with a perfect score of 100: watercress.
Watercress is a leafy green that grows in freshwater environments like streams and ponds. It’s closely related to cabbage, kale, radishes, and mustard. Its scientific name, Nasturtium officinale, translates curiously to “nose twister.”
The world’s healthiest vegetable goes way back
The vegetable has a distinct peppery taste, similar to a combination of arugula and horseradish. B&W Quality Growers reports that watercress has been part of human diets for over three thousand years. It played a significant role in the cuisines of ancient Greek, Persian, and Roman civilizations, and there’s even speculation that it might have been included in the menu of the first Thanksgiving meal.
During the Victorian era in London, street vendors sold watercress as an affordable snack, often calling it the “poor man’s bread,” reported by the BBC. Across Europe and Asia, the vegetable has been consumed for its potential medicinal properties for many centuries.
Benefits of the healthiest vegetable
The health benefits of watercress are substantial. It contains higher amounts of vitamin A and potassium compared to regular lettuce. Interestingly, it even has more vitamin C than oranges. An observation that led Captain James Cook to consider it a remedy for scurvy during his global voyage.
There are various ways to use it in cooking. Younger sprouts have a milder taste and tender stems, making them suitable for raw dishes like salads and garnishes, much like parsley and cilantro. As watercress matures, its flavor becomes stronger with a bold peppery profile. The stems become tougher and fibrous, requiring cooking to make them more enjoyable. Stir-frying or adding to broths are options for including mature watercress in your meals.
Caution: 6 Foods You May Want to Avoid at Restaurants
Tap Water
Even with filtration in place, restaurant water might not be as pristine as one would assume. A study conducted by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed that approximately 3-10% of water systems in North America have annually violated health standards set by the Safe Drinking Water Act, and this includes restaurants, as reported by the water filtration company, Quench. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to find germs and chemicals in restaurant tap water that could potentially affect the health of patrons. Common impurities detected in tap water supplies consist of microorganisms like bacteria, germs, parasites, and viruses, as well as substances like lead, chlorine, aluminum, pesticides, and others.
naumoid/ Getty Images
Raw Sprouts
If sprouts aren’t properly stored and cleaned, they can become quite risky. Unfortunately, when ordering food at a restaurant, we may not witness this process. Sprouts are commonly cultivated in warm, moist conditions, which makes them an ideal breeding ground for bacteria, according to Health Digest. Recent outbreaks of E. coli and Salmonella have been potentially linked to these greens.
Nataliya Kushnir/ Getty Images
Drink Garnishes
Bartenders often don’t have to follow the same stringent sanitary standards as the kitchen staff. As a result, the fruits used in drinks are likely to be unwashed, and they might sit out for days without refrigeration. According to Good Housekeeping, it’s worth giving a second thought to that citrus fruit you might be adding to your drink while dining out. A study revealed that 70% of these sliced fruits carry “over 25 different types of germs.” Contrary to popular belief, even alcohol doesn’t seem to do the trick in killing these germs. Good Morning America visited six restaurants and discovered that the lemons were teeming with “fecal matter” and even harbored the dreaded E. coli bacteria.
baibaz/ Getty Images
Fish
Consider giving those impromptu “All-You-Can-Eat” fish special days a second thought. The fish served on such occasions is often leftovers from a shipment received a few days prior, which means it may not be at its freshest. According to Healthline, fish not stored at the proper temperature might become contaminated with a toxin known as histamine, which is produced by bacteria in the fish. Moreover, Healthline highlights that cooking at regular temperatures does not eliminate histamine, making it a potential cause of food poisoning.
rez-art/ Getty Images
Bottled Ketchup
Whether your ketchup bottle is already on the table at a restaurant or brought to you by the server, chances are it has been handled by multiple people throughout the day or even longer. Making it a potential carrier of germs. Reader’s Digest explains that the reason these same bottles keep circulating is that the ketchup in each of them is often “married.” This means that as the volume of ketchup decreases in individual bottles, servers will combine the contents of several bottles into one. However, there is a downside to this practice: you may end up consuming ketchup of an unknown age or expiration date, leading to an unpleasant taste.
DGLimages/ Getty Images
Fresh Squeezed Juices
It might be worth reconsidering your choice, just as you skip adding garnishes to your drink. Freshly squeezed juices can be teamed with bacteria, unlike pasteurized juices. A study conducted by the MSU Extension reveals that most commercially sold juices in the United States are processed or pasteurized to eliminate harmful foodborne illness bacteria. However, when fruits are freshly squeezed into juice, there is a risk of harmful bacteria lingering in the finished product.
ValentynVolkov/ Getty Images
