Spinach
To further explain the unique qualities of nutrient-rich World’s Healthiest Foods, and to clearly illustrate how important they are to health and healthy weight loss, I want to share with you some food comparisons. Following is a chart showing the contributions of nutrients, including the % Daily Value (DV) of 22 nutrients of which spinach is an especially concentrated source.
Why Nutrient-Richness Can Help You Lose Weight
One cup cooked spinach 41 calories
Nutrient %DV
Vitamin K 1111
Vitamin A 377
Manganese 84
Folate 66
Magnesium 39
Iron 36
Vitamin C 29
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 25
Calcium 25
Potassium 24
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) 22
Tryptophan 22
Vitamin E 19
Dietary Fiber 17
Copper 16
Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) 11
Protein 11
Phosphorus 10
Zinc 9
Omega-3 Fatty Acids 6
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 4
Selenium 4
(Beta-carotene and lutein/zeaxanthin are carotenoids that are also highly concentrated in spinach. Since there is not a DV for carotenoids, however, they are not included above.)
As you can see, one cup of cooked spinach contains only 41 calories.
That’s 2.3% of the calories that would be included in a 1,800-calorie diet. Yet, for just over 2% of your daily calories, you get between 10%
and 100% of the Daily Value for 16 nutrients! In addition to these remarkable benefits for these nutrients, this one-cup serving of spinach lets you exceed (by leaps and bounds) your daily intake goals for vitamin K (1111%) and pro-vitamin A (295%). All of these amazing benefits and you still have about 1,760 calories left to enjoy
and “use” to get more nutrients! That’s almost 98% of your day’s calories left to enjoy after meeting such important nutritional goals on your path to vibrant health, increased energy, and healthy weight loss.
Romaine lettuce
Speaking of salads, most people who struggle with getting 5-9 daily servings of vegetables forget that enjoying a salad—as part of lunch and/or dinner—can put them well on their way to meeting these goals. That’s because a food like romaine lettuce is more than just a base for a delicious salad. It provides an impressive handful of nutrients for an equally impressive small number of calories. If you look at the following chart, you’ll see how two cups of romaine lettuce—the least you’d probably use for making a salad—is so nutrient-rich. For just 16 calories, you’re well on your way to meeting your daily goals for vitamin K, pro-vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, manganese, and chromium, while also enjoying a host of other health- promoting nutrients. This is why I recommend eating a salad made of romaine lettuce (or another type of nutrient-rich lettuce) everyday.
Why Nutrient-Richness Can Help You Lose Weight
(Beta-carotene and lutein/zeaxanthin are carotenoids that are also found in concentrated amounts in romaine lettuce. Since there is not a DV for carotenoids, they are not included above.)
Two cups romaine lettuce 16 calories
Nutrient %DV
Vitamin K 144
Pro-vitamin A 58
Vitamin C 45
Folate 38
Manganese 36
Chromium 13
Potassium 9
Molybdenum 9
Dietary Fiber 8
Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) 7
Iron 7
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 7
Phosphorus 5
Calcium 4
Protein 4
Omega-3 Fatty Acids 3
Tryptophan 3
B3 (Niacin) 3
B6 (Pyridoxine) 3
Molybdenum 9
Dietary Fiber 8
Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) 7
Iron 7
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 7
Phosphorus 5
Calcium 4
Protein 4
Omega-3 Fatty Acids 3
Tryptophan 3
B3 (Niacin) 3
B6 (Pyridoxine) 3
Now, let’s compare romaine lettuce with iceberg lettuce, so we can get an even better feel for the amazing way in which the World’s Healthiest Foods provide optimal nutrient benefits without wreck- ing your calorie budget. Iceberg lettuce—while definitely a whole, nat- ural food—is not as nutrient-rich as many of the World’s Healthiest Foods, including romaine lettuce. That’s the reason you won’t find iceberg lettuce listed on our food chart. While iceberg lettuce is very low in calories (20 calories per two cups of shredded lettuce), it contains far less nutrients than a best-choice nutrient-rich World’s Healthiest Food like romaine lettuce.
For example, two cups of iceberg lettuce provide 723 IU of pro- vitamin A—only about one-quarter the amount provided by two cups of romaine lettuce. Therefore, to get the same amount of pro- vitamin A contained in two cups of romaine lettuce, you’d need to eat about eight cups of iceberg lettuce (an amount you would probably not be willing to consume) and which would end up costing you about 64 additional calories. These 64 added calories may not seem like a lot, but they are when you are trying to lose weight and make every calorie count. If you had to allocate those 64 added calories every day of your weight loss, you would directly slow your weight loss down by about 450 calories per week, or one-eighth of a pound per week. In one month, you’d be slowing your weight loss down by about one-half pound and in six months, three full pounds.
Just think: if each day you ate four cups of nutrient-rich salads that included romaine lettuce, you’d probably spend under 100 calories while meeting (or exceeding) your goals for dozens of health- promoting nutrients. Now, that’s what I call a great formula for health, and healthy weight loss.
Blueberries
Fruits are another incredibly concentrated source of nutrients. Plus, they offer another terrific benefit: as a natural source of sugar, they can satisfy a sweet tooth. So when you eat fruit for a snack or dessert, you will not only be benefiting from their range of vitamins,
Why Nutrient-Richness Can Help You Lose Weight
minerals, fiber, and phytonutrients, but you’ll be avoiding calorie- rich sugary foods such as cakes, cookies, and ice cream.
Using blueberries as an example for fruit, you can see from the chart below that it is concentrated in important essential nutrients. Yet, the chart here can be deceiving since what blueberries—as well as many other fruits—also deliver are vast amounts of phytonutrients, such as carotenoids and flavonoids. As these nutrients currently do not have DVs, they are not represented in the chart.