Remember your mother used to always tell you as a child to eat your veggies so you would grow to be healthy and strong? Mom was not far off the mark as vegetables are a food group that you can never eat too many of. Vegetables are chocked full of fiber, vitamins and minerals. Let’s take the time to look at some of the most nutritious of all of the vegetables.

Broccoli is sometimes described as being, “the best prescription” for what ails a person. Fiber is a substance that helps to fight cancer and broccoli has plenty of fiber in it as well as vitamin C and beta-carotene. Broccoli is also rich in boron and calcium that helps to build strong bones as well as folic acid which is particularly important for women of child bearing years to consume enough of as it works to prevent a number of neural tube birth defects. Potassium may be a mineral that is found in bananas but there is plenty of it in broccoli as well. Potassium is instrumental in lowering blood sugar. Research studies have discovered that broccoli contains a cancer fighting chemical called sulforaphane which encourages the action of enzymes that detoxify to do their job as well as possible.

Brown rice is not often thought of as a healing vegetable but it is. Brown rice has within it a substance known as oryzanol and this substance is proficient at lowering the bad cholesterol or LDL in the blood by as large a percentage as 20 percent. It is strongly believed as well that the high fiber rice bran that is a part of brown rice is beneficial at lowering cholesterol levels. Brown rice is rich vitamin B6, copper, niacin, magnesium and zinc. Brown rice also has plenty of thiamine in it, which is essential for the proper functioning of the nervous system. Brown rice is also full of vitamin E which is instrumental in decreasing the risk of cataracts and heart disease and is beneficial for supporting the strength of the immune system.

Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable that is helpful in the fight against cancer as it contains substances known as indoles. There are a variety of indoles in this vegetable and researchers believe that one indole in particular is very beneficial in preventing the incidence of breast cancer due to the fact that it reduces the work of the chemical estradiol, which happens to be associated with the hormone estrogen. It is estrogen that helps to encourage the growth and development of a variety of types of tumors.

Carrots are extremely high in beta-carotene content. Studies have shown that people who consume five or more servings of carrots per week are less inclined to suffer from a stroke (68 percent less likely) than those who consume one to two carrots every month or less. Research studies have also yielded the result that consuming one carrot daily can help to decrease the risk that a former smoker will develop lung cancer.