The 12 Healthiest Vegetables — Backed by Science - GoodRx (2024)

“Eat your veggies!” Most people have heard this at some point in their life. And while many people know that vegetables are good for them, they may not know just how healthy vegetables can be.

Eating vegetables every day can reduce your risk for chronic diseases, improve brain function, and even help you live longer. But only about 1 in 10 adults in the U.S. actually consumes the recommended amount of two or more servings per day. In this article we’ll review the health benefits of vegetables and point out the powerhouse veggies to help you get the biggest bang for your buck.

Which nutrients do vegetables provide?

Vegetables are an excellent source of many essential nutrients. These include:

• Fiber: Fiber helps keep digestion regular, lowers cholesterol, and helps with weight maintenance.

• Potassium: It’s essential for muscle and nerve function. Potassium can also help lower blood pressure and the risk of stroke.

• Folate: It helps the body make red blood cells. Folate is especially important during pregnancy because it helps reduce the risk of birth defects of the brain and spine.

• Vitamin A: Vitamin A keeps the skin healthy and strengthens the immune system.

• Vitamin C: It also helps keep the immune system strong. And vitamin C plays a role in iron absorption.

• Iron: Iron is important for brain function and the production of red blood cells.

• Calcium: Important for bone health, calcium may also help protect against cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

• Phytonutrients: These are nutrients that come from plants. They have a wide variety of health-boosting properties. An example is antioxidants, which may help prevent anything from heart disease to cancer.

Which vegetables are the healthiest?

All vegetables are healthy. They’re naturally low in fat and salt, and they’re packed with nutrients. So you can’t go wrong when choosing a vegetable. But when it comes to proven health benefits, here are 12 of the healthiest vegetables according to scientific research.

1. Broccoli

Broccoli contains a special chemical compound called sulforaphane, which scientists have studied for its medicinal effects. Studies show that sulforaphane can:

• Lower the risk of cardiovascular disease

• Prevent steroid-induced osteoporosis

• Have anticancer properties

Some studies suggest that broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables are the best vegetables to protect against cancer. Eating just 3 to 5 servings per week may lower your risk of cancer by 30% to 40%.

Broccoli is also an excellent source of vitamin C and iron.

2. Kale

Kale has become more popular as a health food in the past few decades. But this leafy green vegetable has been used as medicine for much longer than that.

Kale owes its healthy reputation to lutein. This nutrient helps prevent:

• Neurological problems, like memory loss or difficulties with learning

• Eye diseases, like cataracts or diabetic eye problems

• Cardiovascular problems, like high blood pressure

• Skin irritation

• Bone decay

Kale is also an excellent source of iron, calcium, and folic acid.

3. Spinach

Spinach contains many of the same health benefits as broccoli and kale. But it’s also rich in phytochemicals. These cause the body to release hormones that make you feel full, which can be helpful for people who want to lose weight. Spinach also contains nutrients that may help with:

• Maintaining healthy muscles

• Improving heart health

• Having better immune function

In addition, spinach has one of the highest iron contents compared with other vegetables. It’s also a great source of vitamin A and fiber.

4. Carrots

Carrots contain carotenoids, which give them their vibrant orange color (or yellow or red). Carotenoids also have antioxidant properties. This means they can play a role in:

• Preventing age-related diseases, like Alzheimer’s and memory loss

• Protecting you from sunburns (and skin cancer)

• Keeping your immune system healthy

Carrots are also a great source of fiber and vitamin A.

5. Bell peppers

Yellow, green, and red bell peppers each have their own unique health benefits. So eating a variety of colors is a great way to get all of their nutrients.

• Red peppers: These contain capsaicin, which can help with pain relief, cancer prevention, and weight loss.

• Yellow peppers: These have a high amount of flavonoids, which are especially helpful for learning and memory.

• Green peppers: These are a great source of phenolic acids. This can lower your risk of diabetes and help prevent skin damage.

Bell peppers also have an especially high amount of vitamin C — 1 cup has about three times more vitamin C than an orange.

6. Beets

Beets contain betalains. These are pigments that have nitrogen, which give them that deep-purple color. They can lower your risk of developing:

• High blood pressure

• Heart disease

• High cholesterol

• Cancer

Beets are also rich in folate and potassium.

7. Sweet potato

Sweet potatoes are filled with carotenoids and polysaccharides, which have far-reaching health benefits. There’s evidence that sweet potatoes can help:

• Improve absorption of vitamin A

• Control blood sugar

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• Prevent constipation

• Improve liver function

Sweet potatoes are also filled with micronutrients like manganese, copper, potassium, and iron.

8. Mushrooms

Mushrooms are considered a vegetable, but they have some unique qualities. For starters, a mushroom isn’t a plant-based food or animal food. It’s a fungus. As a fungus, mushrooms are a great source of vitamin D, which you won’t find in other vegetables. Vitamin D helps you maintain healthy bones and muscles. But that’s not all.

People have considered mushrooms a healing food since the Romans called mushrooms “food of the gods.” Modern research seems to confirm that mushrooms may lower your chances of developing:

• Alzheimer’s disease

• Parkinson’s disease

• Stroke

• Cancer

Mushrooms also contain prebiotics, which can help feed healthy gut bacteria.

9. Red cabbage

As a cruciferous vegetable, red cabbage shares many of the health benefits of its cousins, broccoli and kale. But the rich purple hue in cabbage boasts the added benefit of anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are natural pigments that are especially helpful for:

• Improving brain health

• Helping with heart function

• Lowering cancer risk

• Improving gut health

As an added perk, red cabbage is especially high in vitamin C, vitamin K, and fiber.

10. Garlic

Garlic has been used throughout history as a type of plant medicine. This is because garlic is jam-packed with polyphenols — plant-based compounds — that can improve your health. Studies have shown that garlic may help lower your risk for conditions like:

• Osteoarthritis

• Skin disease

• Heart disease

• Cancer

• Diabetes

Garlic is also filled with potassium, phosphorus, and zinc. So it’s an excellent way to add both flavor and health benefits to any meal.

11. Onions

Another great way to add some health-boosting flavor to a meal is to use onions. Onions have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune-boosting properties. So they can boost your health in several ways. Eating onions regularly may:

• Improve wound healing

• Help prevent gallstones

• Help with depression or anxiety

• Lower your chance of cancer

Onions also provide many essential nutrients like calcium, iron, and fiber.

12. Eggplant

Eggplant is filled with phytochemicals — compounds in plants that have powerful antioxidant effects. Eggplant is particularly healthy because it can lower your risk for metabolic syndrome by helping to:

• Regulate blood sugar

• Lower body fat

• Lower blood pressure

• Lower cholesterol

Eggplants are also high in soluble fiber, potassium, manganese, and other micronutrients.

How does nutritional value change between different forms of vegetables?

All forms of vegetables supply the body with healthy nutrients. But some ways of preparing your veggies may be better at preserving those nutritious vitamins and minerals.

• Fresh vegetables: These serve as the baseline for nutritional content. But even among fresh veggies, the level of ripeness can affect nutrient content. And the timing of harvest may affect how many nutrients remain.

• Frozen vegetables: These have similar nutritional content to fresh vegetables. Although the beta-carotene level may be lower for certain vegetables in their frozen form.

• Boiled vegetables: Boiling can lead to lower amounts of nutrients for certain vegetables. This is because the vitamins can “leak out” into the water.

• Steamed vegetables: Steaming is probably the best way to maintain or even improve the availability of nutrients. For example, steaming broccoli can actually increase the availability of its antioxidants and polyphenols.

• Fermented vegetables: Fermentation keeps most of the nutrients. Fermented veggies also provide a powerful dose of probiotics.