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  • Kale is the cinderella of leafy greens, it seems in the past few years it's gone from

  • bottom of the barrel food to diet mainstay. But does it really deserve to be this popular?

  • Hey there, Julia here for Dnews.

  • It's no secret fruits and veggies are good for you. Like REALLY GOOD FOR YOU. They're

  • densely packed with lots of nutrients and are known to fight cancer and heart disease.

  • But recently Kale has gone from garnish to main course, sales went up 400% in the course

  • of a year,  a group of doctors and chefs even petitioned the white house to make October

  • 2nd National Kale day. But who is the true king of so-called super foods? In a recent

  • report from the Center for Disease control, it's not kale. The popular green placed

  • a paltry 15th.  In terms of nutrient density, other leafy greens like chicory and chinese

  • cabbage bested the super popular super food.

  • Chopping the CDC charts with a Nutrient density ranking of 100, watercress.  Per calorie

  • it packs the biggest nutrient punch. The tangy salad and sandwich topper is low on calories

  • but high in vitamins and minerals. Some studies show it might even fight cancer. One study

  • suggested a compound found in the plant could turn off a protein that breast cancer needs

  • to go.

  • In comparison, while it still contains vitamins and minerals and also helps fight cancer,

  • kale's nutrient density is only 49.

  • But before you call for a national watercress day, consider this. The reason watercress

  • bests kale on this list is all about the calories. The Nutrient Density Scores are based on nutrients

  • per calorie. So kale's score of 49 means that you get about half of the nutrients you

  • need in 100 calories of kale. Watercress's score of 100 means you get about all of the

  • nutrients you need in 100 calories of watercress.

  • In terms of what you actually eat, counting serving size, not calories, gives you a better

  • idea.  One cup of watercress contains just 4 calories but provides 106% of the vitamin

  • K you need and about a quarter of vitamins A and C.

  •   Just one cup of kale on the other hand contains

  • 33 calories but those calories pack a punch,  and contain over 6 times the amount of vitamin

  • K you should get and over 100% of your recommended vitamin A & C intake. Personally, I'd prefer

  • a cup of kale to more than a cup of watercress to get the same healthy goodness.

  • So cup for cup, kale still wins. But you really can't go wrong with any vegetable. Others

  • on the CDC list like, broccoli and cauliflower have been shown to reduce lung cancer in mice

  • AND humans. Tomatoes, carrots, and blackberries are also super healthy and contain compounds

  • that fight cancer and heart disease.  While trends come and go, at the end of the day

  • you can't lose with a diet of fruits and veggies.

Kale is the cinderella of leafy greens, it seems in the past few years it's gone from

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