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Healthiest Fruits and Vegetables

Ranked by the density of 17 different nutrients including potassium, fiber, protein, calcium, and iron.
Source: CDC Journal "Preventing Chronic Disease"
Quiz by Kestrana
Rate:
Featured Quiz
Last updated: June 29, 2014
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First submittedJune 6, 2014
Times taken43,430
Average score36.6%
Rating4.00
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Score
Answer
100
Watercress
91.99
Chinese Cabbage
89.27
Chard
87.08
Beet Greens
86.43
Spinach
73.36
Chicory
70.73
Leaf Lettuce
65.59
Parsley
63.48
Romaine Lettuce
62.49
Collard Greens
62.12
Turnip Greens
61.39
Mustard Greens
60.44
Endive
54.80
Chives
Score
Answer
49.07
Kale
46.34
Dandelion Greens
41.26
Red Pepper
37.65
Arugula
34.89
Broccoli
33.82
Pumpkin
32.23
Brussels Sprout
27.35
Scallion
25.92
Kohlrabi
25.13
Cauliflower
24.51
Cabbage
22.60
Carrot
20.37
Tomato
18.72
Lemon
Score
Answer
18.28
Iceberg Lettuce
17.59
Strawberry
16.91
Radish
13.89
Winter Squash
12.91
Orange
12.23
Lime
11.64
Grapefruit (pink and red)
11.58
Rutabaga
11.43
Turnip
11.39
Blackberry
10.69
Leek
10.51
Sweet potato
10.47
Grapefruit (white)
TenThousand
+2
Level 76
Jun 29, 2014
Please also accept "kumara" for "sweet potato"
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Jun 29, 2014
Yam and kumara will work now.
Sophia458
+1
Level 18
Feb 9, 2017
Thanks! 😃
kalbahamut
+7
Level 82
Jun 30, 2014
Yams are a manly crop. No woman is fit to farm yams. That's what Ifejioku told me.
smartcookie17
+1
Level 45
Jul 2, 2014
Sexist.
raneman11
+7
Level 66
Jul 9, 2014
Don't worry. At least someone got the reference.
cosmokim
+1
Level 65
Sep 14, 2016
Haha!
realhenryb
+3
Level 95
Aug 19, 2018
That brings back some memories of 11th grade English class.
IsleAuHaulte
+1
Level 89
Aug 21, 2018
Well, gets them off the hook.
JackintheBox
+1
Level 79
Jun 5, 2019
But women are fit to cook them! (In the kitchen of course) :D
Zenica
+1
Level 39
Jun 29, 2014
Yeah in New Zealand they are only known as Kumara... It took me much longer than it should have to realise that it was the same thing as sweet potato. Kumara is a Maori word though, I wouldn't expect it to be accepted as an answer on an American quiz site
tylerdavid
+1
Level 73
Jun 29, 2014
Glad to know I don't need to spend time eating blueberries anymore, even though I'd read elsewhere they were rated the best fruit to eat. Actually, I guess I can skip most fruits and just concentrate on vegetables.
jellyperson
+2
Level 56
Aug 19, 2018
These ratings are for amount of various nutrients per 100 kcal (so many fruits are lower ranked due to having high sugar content. That said, eating vegetables instead of fruits can be a good way to cut down on sugar in your diet depending on what else your eating. (Note: eating the fruit itself is still much better than drinking fruit juice when it comes to reducing sugar in your diet.)

Some other comments point out that this study is looking at a variety of nutrients, whereas bluberries are known for being high in just a few specific nutrients. I can't speak to the accuracy of that comment but it might explain why blueberries didn't make the list.

Packerswin14
+1
Level 83
Jun 29, 2014
You should accept "Swiss chard" for Chard. I've never heard it called just chard. Must be a regional thing.
ander217
+1
Level 75
Jun 29, 2014
Agree. When it didn't accept swiss chard I didn't try just chard. Silverbeet should also be accepted.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Jun 29, 2014
Swiss chard will work now.
kiwiquizzer
+1
Level 68
Aug 22, 2018
In New Zealand we call chard silverbeet. So good for you. I have masses of it in my garden and fridge at the moment.
sillie
+3
Level 77
Jun 29, 2014
Swede for rutabaga (seconded), rocket for arugula. I am surprised not to see blueberries on the list, they are a superfood from what I know! (And I mean the wild ones, not the farmed ones.) Likewise acai berries and goji berries? It's hard to believe iceberg lettuce is so high on the list as well. And is parsley really a vegetable? Thought it was a herb and never eaten in quantities that would afford it to be named vegetable.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Jun 29, 2014
Rocket will work now.
kalbahamut
+3
Level 82
Jul 20, 2016
"super"foods are mostly super at duping Whole Foods shoppers out of their money.
tommo1d
+2
Level 52
Aug 19, 2018
I work at a grocery store. Parsley can be found in the produce section with fruits and vegetables. So I guess it counts.
jellyperson
+1
Level 56
Aug 19, 2018
I think parsley is usually just used as garnish/flavoring, but some people eat in nutritionally significant quantities...

My dad is on a low carb diet, so for breakfast he chops up a large bunch of parsley and fries it with eggs. He buys parsley by the pound. But he is weird :P

Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Jul 14, 2019
I didnt know what rhutabaga was, so looked it up. And it came back to me as kohlrabi... edit: it was koolraap, but in norwegian and danish it is kålrabbi

I looked some more, apparently we have koolraap en kohlrabi... very confusing (ánd knolraap..which is turnip, which is the word often used in england scotland and northern ireland and Newfoundland for rutabanga.) all the names in that family seems a bit of a mess, and different ones are used in different countries for a variety of these products.

It is like they said, ok we ve got a few of these vegetables which are related and /or lookalike and we ve got these bunch of names... help yourself! Take a pick

Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Jul 14, 2019
I know btw that this (used to) happen a lot, plants birds and insects. They see something in one place that sounds the the description of another thing they heard of before and name it that. Sometimes in the believe it is the same thing. Sometimes because they know they dont have that thing where they life, so give the name to something that is similar consciously. (Which works fine, someehat if you add a noun. )

Like i recently learned the american robin and european robin are two completely different birds, not the same with a slight twist (that would have after separation). Not even in the same family. As similar as a pigeon and a seagull... only thing in common is the red chest. But I have only ever heard them being called robin, on both sides of the pond. So initially you assume it is the same bird.

kfroog
+1
Level 40
Jun 29, 2014
Had never heard of chicory, so I looked it up. My dictionary says it's the same thing as endive?
Freestatebear
+1
Level 85
Nov 16, 2016
Radicchio, sometimes called Italian chicory, is also in the same genus.
thisisfun
+1
Level 33
Jun 29, 2014
Where is the apple?
NOTKimJongUn
+14
Level 74
Jan 19, 2015
In my refrigerator
jellyperson
+2
Level 56
Aug 19, 2018
The study measured nutritional content per 100kcal, so higher calorie foods (including most fruits and more starchy vegetables) aren't high on their list.

"apples, bananas, corn, and potatoes" are specifically described as "low nutrient density" in the study (though their source for this is behind a paywall). Note that this does NOT mean these four are unhealthy, just that you need to eat a larger/higher calories serving of (say) apples than (say) watercress to get the same amount of disease-preventing vitamins and nutrients. This is obvious to anyone who has eaten both apples and watercress, but its nice to have a study explicitly measuring the differences I guess.

cranbeckh
+1
Level 68
Jun 30, 2014
I always thought rutabaga and turnips were the same thing.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Jul 14, 2019
They are called koolraap and knolraap in my language (and then there is koolrabi) so the name is close aswell. Different countries sometimes use the same word for different things..
purplemooncat
+2
Level 49
Jul 1, 2014
I'm surprised that ice berg lettuce made the list. I always heard it was basically water and no nutritional value. And very surpised blueberries didn't make it.
Kestrana
+1
Level 60
Jul 1, 2014
According to the study: Results

Of 47 foods studied, all but 6 (raspberry, tangerine, cranberry, garlic, onion, and blueberry) satisfied the powerhouse criterion (Table 2). Nutrient density scores ranged from 10.47 to 122.68 (median score = 32.23) and were moderately correlated with powerhouse group (ρ = 0.49, P = .001). The classification scheme was robust with respect to nutrients protective against chronic disease (97% of foods classified as PFV were separately classified as such on the basis of 8 nutrients protective against cancer and heart disease).

Blueberries are probably still great for you to eat but they don't help prevent disease which was the point of the study.

SpankyMcFabulous
+8
Level 44
Jul 8, 2014
A pig would eat everything on that list...therefore I vote to accept bacon.
tommo1d
+1
Level 52
Feb 14, 2016
haha
Dblingah
+1
Level 77
Aug 5, 2014
Oh...I missed the fruit part in the title....
Awesomeness101
+1
Level 54
Oct 13, 2014
hello? an apple a day keeps the doctor away?
Kestrana
+2
Level 60
Oct 14, 2014
Hi, based on the criteria of the study, apples did not qualify. You can view the source material linked at the top if you want more information.
jellyperson
+1
Level 56
Aug 19, 2018
Apples have higher calorie density than most things on the list. (Probably mostly from sugar... note how fruits are mostly near the bottom of the rankings). Note that depending on your dietary needs/goals that might be a good thing, but this study was looking at the most calorie-efficient ways to get a variety of other nutrients.
Bubblecat
+2
Level 71
Oct 22, 2015
Please accept "sprouts" for "brussels sprout".
nanook
+1
Level 51
Dec 3, 2015
Agreed.
Freestatebear
+1
Level 85
Nov 16, 2016
In my area, calling them just "sprouts" would totally confuse people. Here, sprouts refer to bean or alfalfa sprouts, used as a salad ingredient - not to Brussels sprouts.
Malbaby
+2
Level 71
Dec 3, 2015
I'm surprised that Figs, Dates, Bananas and Durians did not make the list
ander217
+2
Level 75
Jan 4, 2017
Read the study. It explains a lot. Some items, probably including blueberries, didn't make the list because they are extremely high in only one or two of the desired nutrients. The study capped the amount of each nutrient to prevent foods making the list which didn't score high in the total range. Also, this study was aimed specifically at those foods which would prevent chronic diseases. Green leafy, yellow/orange, and those with a broad range of nutrients were the preferred ones.
comjag
+1
Level 90
Dec 3, 2015
Where is the asparagus? I love that stuff and everything I read tells me it is very healthy.
Malbaby
+7
Level 71
May 19, 2016
That's true, I've never seen a sick Asparagus!
ander217
+3
Level 75
Apr 6, 2018
Then you've never seen mine after an attack of asparagus beetles.
jellyperson
+1
Level 56
Aug 19, 2018
The source study doesn't say whether they tested asparagus.
Clarisse451
+1
Level 65
Jan 26, 2016
Can you please accept some phonetic spellings of Kohlrabi? Like Kolorabi?
Landon
+1
Level 38
Mar 8, 2016
only got 28 right. Some i haven't even heard of lol
gzx5
+1
Level 71
May 1, 2016
No Acai berry? No Goji berry? No apples
emwcee
+1
Level 45
Jul 13, 2016
What kind of nutritionists came up with this list? Why is iceberg lettuce on this list and not blueberries and avocados????? Very strange.
jellyperson
+2
Level 56
Aug 19, 2018
The study is measuring nutrients per 100kcal, so calorie dense vegetables (such as those high in sugars like blueberries or fats like avocado) are ranked lower than lower calory things like most leafy things :P

Also I'm pretty sure the study did not test avocados at all.

joez
+1
Level 72
Jan 3, 2017
I am also surprised that superfoods like blueberries and pomegranates don't make the list while iceberg lettuce does.
Kestrana
+2
Level 60
Jan 3, 2017
While those "superfoods" might be good for weight and overall health, the study this quiz is based on was looking at what foods help prevent disease, especially food related disease like scurvy. So "keep your immune system healthiest" vs. "keep your body slimmest".
leni
+1
Level 76
Jan 3, 2017
Very surprised that there are no apples on this list.

Isn't an apple a day supposed to keep the doctor away? :P

STL1994
+1
Level 46
May 31, 2017
Here in the South, collard greens are just greens. Please accept that!
texasforever
+2
Level 60
May 31, 2017
I don't know how "south" I am but here in TX we call them collard greens.
ander217
+2
Level 75
Jun 7, 2018
In my part of the Upper South we eat so many different ones that we have to distinguish them - collard greens, mustard greens, poke greens, dandelion greens, turnip greens, komatsuna tendergreen, etc. (My favorite is tendergreen, but they're all good.)
panscedar
+1
Level 68
May 31, 2017
Hard to understand how no members of the bean family make this list - protein?
ander217
+1
Level 75
Jun 7, 2018
And fiber, iron, folate, magnesium, potassium... but this study was looking for specific nutrients in specific groups for fighting diseases, and it definitely leaned toward green leafy and yellow/orange veggies and fruits.
emwcee
+1
Level 45
Aug 19, 2018
Only green beans are considered vegetables. Other beans - such as kidney beans, navy beans, pinto beans, etc., are actually in the meat/protein group.
jellyperson
+1
Level 56
Aug 19, 2018
Pretty sure beans were not tested in the study.

Also, beans are much more calorie-dense (lots of good starch and protein as you mention) so that would also rank them lower than all the leafy stuff on this quiz.

bezz
+1
Level 69
May 31, 2017
What about wild blueberries? Far more anti-oxidants in them than in blackberries.
Malbaby
+1
Level 71
Apr 6, 2018
Don't forget 'Really Angry Gooseberries'
emwcee
+1
Level 45
Aug 19, 2018
I was really surprised by this too. Blueberries are supposed to be a super food.
jellyperson
+1
Level 56
Aug 19, 2018
This is looking at a variety of nutrients and dividing by calorie density. Bluberries are higher in sugar and aren't high in most of the nutrients they looked at -- both factors bring it down in this study's ranking.

Note that this does not mean that blueberries are "unhealthy" (depending on what your health/diet goals are). Just that if you want to get the nutrients this study is looking at, you can do so more efficiently with the foods on this quiz.

arpacas
+1
Level 40
Aug 1, 2017
Please accept silverbeet for chard
samiamco
+6
Level 69
Jan 25, 2018
I'm surprised no one's noticed this, but this study was very limited, and was intended to be so. It was ONLY evaluating 6 types of fruits/vegetables: green leafy, yellow/orange, citrus, cruciferous, berries, and alliums – 47 all told. That leaves out a LOT of fruits and vegetables, and the author admits it: "Foods within particular groups were studied; thus, other nutrient-dense items may have been overlooked." The criteria was also admittedly limited: "Because it was not possible to include phytochemical data in the calculation of nutrient density scores, the scores do not reflect all of the constituents that may confer health benefits." (That's a HUGE caveat!) This is a single-author study (in a CDC-published journal, but NOT "endorsed" by them), by a sociologist. Now, she's well-published & the paper's been cited, but be clear: the mainstream media glommed onto it, and blew it up WAY beyond its original scope. These aren't "the healthiest fruits & vegetables" in any general sense.
samiamco
+5
Level 69
Jan 25, 2018
Kestrana, I wanted to make sure I added that I mean no offense toward you; I have nothing but mad respect for anyone who takes the time and effort to make awesome JetPunk quizzes, and I thank you for doing so! But I did see from some of your responses to other commenters that you too may have mistook some aspects of this study as well, for instance: 1) It wasn't a CDC study (bottom of page: "The opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions of […] the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention […]." 2) The absence of blueberries in this top 41 doesn't mean they don't help prevent disease (there's TONS of evidence that they do!), just that they don't test high enough for *these particular metrics* of disease prevention. I have experience with academic publishing and its frequent misuse, so I felt it was important to point these issues out.
jellyperson
+2
Level 56
Aug 19, 2018
I want to second samiamco's comments about limits of the study and thanks to Kestrana. The quiz is very interesting but the title is misleading and I would appreciate better title or clarification in the quiz description.
PuzzledOut
+2
Level 65
Aug 19, 2018
How do I upvote this comment?
vermiciousknid
+4
Level 88
Aug 19, 2018
click the heart button next to the username of the commenter.
payel123
+1
Level 38
Mar 17, 2018
Jute , Ice plant , Vegetable Fern , Rhubharb , Corn-On-The-Cob , Mash , Pea , Watermelon , Grape & , Can You Accept Potato For Sweet Potato. :):).... "Whats Leaf Lettuce". Ive Never Heard Of Leaf Lettuce. Can You Have Hamburg-Parsley. [Not Parsley....] . These Are Real XD. Did You Get All Of This Information From Wikipedia (Wiki). I Was Thinking Whats Scalian (I Still Don't Know What It is). Why Do YOU Accept Rocket For Arugula. First I Was Pepetually Typing Argula... {Next Time Search Better}. Can You Accept Parzley and Argula. Can You Accept Cabagge?? Check Out All Of Quizzes. Search My User Then Click On It Then You Go To World food Quiz If You See There are foods from all over like Moussaka , Spaghetti. :). Are You The 'moderator'. Is There Anything Called Honeydew Melon Great Quiz. I Took Unlimited Because I Only A Quarter of the answers. I tThink This is One My Favourite Quizzes XD. Quizmaster Almost Knows Everything He Knows Punctuation Like {} (Braces).
ander217
+1
Level 75
Jun 7, 2018
QM is top of the pyramid for punctuation. His prowess for brackets and braces is legendary, but did you notice that he didn't make this quiz?
MultiplePens
+1
Level 52
Mar 31, 2018
First time I did this quiz, I didn't read the title properly and I only typed in vegetables. Surprisingly I did still get fifteen.
jellyperson
+1
Level 56
Aug 19, 2018
This study was primarily examining "green leafy, yellow/orange, citrus, and cruciferous items " (notice that except for citrus those would all be vegetables). Also, fruits tend to be much sweeter, and this study was looking at nutrient density per 100kcal... so fruits' sugar content would put them lower in the rankings.
MultiplePens
+1
Level 52
Mar 31, 2018
I typed in 'cress' but it didn't count it. Could you fix this?
ander217
+1
Level 75
Apr 6, 2018
Cress is garden cress, not watercress. They are in the same family, but not the same thing.
BigDave73
+1
Level 27
May 10, 2018
surprised Garlic or ginger were not here.
jellyperson
+2
Level 56
Aug 19, 2018
Ginger wasn't studied. Garlic ranked very low in the study, either because it's highly calorie dense or doesn't have high levels of the nutrients this study focused on.
undeadwarrior
+1
Level 63
Jun 7, 2018
Can you change the title of this quiz to "Healthiest fruits, vegetables AND HERBS" please?
DrIlluminati123
+1
Level 33
Jun 7, 2018
WOW! I never new Watercress was the healthiest food you can get from plants.
emwcee
+1
Level 45
Aug 19, 2018
I know, right? I'm going to have to try some.
jellyperson
+1
Level 56
Aug 19, 2018
Healthiest *in these specific nutrients* AND *per 100 kcalories*. Depending on your nutritional goals these may not be the healthiest for you.

That said adding watercress to your diet probably won't hurt! And it's not bad as stringy, leafy foods go. :P

emwcee
+1
Level 45
Aug 19, 2018
Is garlic considered a vegetable? It certainly is healthy.
jellyperson
+1
Level 56
Aug 19, 2018
Yes, this study included garlic but it didn't score highly on their metrics. I'm not sure if that's because it's relatively calorie-dense (as for apples, potatoes, etc.) or just doesn't have high levels of the nutrients they looked at. Scoring low on this study does not mean it's unhealthy.
yankeh
+1
Level 60
Aug 19, 2018
Might I request a few more alternate spellings for rutabaga?
luxint
+1
Level 65
Aug 19, 2018
nice idea and thanks but couldnt it easily be called 'name a vegetable/fruit' on account of the fact you have included so many of them....be much more challenging if you restricted it to about the top 10-15?
Eigengrau
+1
Level 60
Aug 19, 2018
BANANAS AND ESPECIALLY DATES SHOULD BE THERE!!! I'm so surprised why Dates aren't on top. They are the best fruit in the whole world and have a cure for almost every disease. They have lots of those minerals e.g Potassium, Iron, Calcium etc. DATES SHOULD BE ON TOP!!!
jellyperson
+1
Level 56
Aug 19, 2018
I think the source study didn't look at dates.

Bananas are ranked lower because they are very starchy & sweet, so have lower nutrient content *PER CALORIE* than the quiz answers.

vermiciousknid
+1
Level 88
Aug 19, 2018
Consider accepting just "iceberg" instead of needing to add lettuce? I tried that and then assumed it was incorrect.
cpgatbyu
+3
Level 85
Aug 19, 2018
The source: "Foods within particular groups were studied; thus, other nutrient-dense items may have been overlooked." Thus, the study does *not* make the claim that these are "the healthiest fruits and vegetables."
naughtynick
+1
Level 34
Aug 21, 2018
You mean to tell me that fruit and nut chocolate, fruit cake, haggis, black pudding,bacon,don't even make it to the top 20 ? Well ! i am taken aback.
AlfieJMD
+1
Level 37
Aug 22, 2018
wtf is arugula? I typed rocket and it comes up with this? someone help me haha
Sifhraven
+2
Level 67
Jul 14, 2019
You sort of answered your own question.
LuluAndrade
+2
Level 21
Aug 26, 2018
The only issue I have with this is that, apparently, the study only analyzed 47 fruits and vegetables. Therefore, a lot of fruits or veggies that can be super nutritious dont show in the list...
geographic
+1
Level 61
Dec 23, 2018
This list is a great counter-propaganda to my brain steering me toward sweet carbs! I do assume that leafy greens that take up minerals would also take up undesirable minerals if the land was polluted (see phytoremediation), or conversely, fewer minerals if the soil were leached.
ballabrand
+1
Level 53
Dec 25, 2018
Only 27, I missed the part about fruits.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Jul 14, 2019
First of it really should have a caveat that this is nutrients/calory.

secondly the study is rather shaky, they choose a limited amount of items they considered to be powerhouse food and nearly all met the 10%requirement. They picked 46 items and 41 made the cut (all of which (onion, garlic and several berries) besides tangerine were decided to be added to the list alongside the suspected powerhouse foods based on being associated with benefits of the cardiovascular system, )

Zylco
+1
Level 45
Dec 29, 2020
Only 0.8 people got 100%!
moonshot
+1
Level 55
Jul 9, 2021
I'm shocked apples aren't on this list...

Would never have guessed watercress as Number 1..

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