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When it comes to healthy eating, veggies are always a good choice — but one takes the cake for being the healthiest. Watercress is the most nutrient-dense vegetable, receiving a perfect score of 100 in the CDC’s long-standing ranking of “powerhouse” fruits and vegetables (PFVs). Chinese cabbage is a close second with a score of 91.99, followed by chard (89.27), beet greens (87.08) and spinach (86.43). These foods, among a total of 41 that qualified as PFVs, were found to contain 17 nutrients, including potassium, fiber, protein, calcium, iron, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, zinc, and vitamins A, B6, B12, C,...

It's also super easy to prepare.You have a wide range of vegetables to choose from on a regular basis, but research shows that there’s one that’s particularly good for you: watercress. This leafy green has been deemed the healthiest vegetable by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with an impressive nutrient density score of 100 out of 100. But watercress isn’t just ranked the healthiest vegetable: It beat runner-up Chinese cabbage by more than eight points. Nutritionists aren’t shocked. “I can believe that watercress is the ‘healthiest’ vegetable,” says Dana Ellis Hunnes, Ph.D., a senior dietitian at UCLA...

Anyone who’s paying attention knows it’s a very good idea to eat green, leafy vegetables and colorful citrus fruits. Over time, research has shown their association with reducing cancer and chronic disease. In fact, most of us know that we should be consuming multiple helpings of these foods each day. (Here is a handy calculator from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that helps you figure out how much you need.) But which vegetables are best? Fads come and go as quickly as that kale in your fridge. One day it’s broccoli, the next cabbage. And how do you...