Fruits & Vegetables

The aspirin effect
Here's one new explanation for why eating a lot of fruits and vegetables is linked to lower heart-disease risk: Plant foods, including herbs and spices, contain the same anti-inflammatory compound as aspirin -- salicylic acid. (The hardening of the arteries that leads to heart attacks is a chronic inflammatory process.) In a Scottish study comparing vegetarians and nonvegetarians, the nonmeat-eaters had higher blood levels of salicylic acid. Fruits and vegetables with the highest content are broccoli, chili peppers, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, blackberries, cherries, cranberries, dates and plums.

Banish bitterness
Wish you enjoyed eating vitamin-rich brussels sprouts, broccoli rabe, and cabbage? There may be a way you can. A new study from the University of Ulster in England found that women who didn't consume at least 7 milligrams of zinc daily (the RDA is 8 milligrams) were more offended by bitter tastes than those who ate more than that amount. Boost your zinc intake with fish, lean beef, chicken, yogurt, and nuts.