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Evidence-minded articles on the nutrition and health benefits of everyday ingredients — vegetables, fruits, seafood, spices and more.

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All ingredients | Ingredient Health Benefits

All ingredients

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Evidence

All Strong evidence2 Moderate evidence18 Early research11 Nutrition data7

18 ingredients

Vegetables — See the category page

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

Okra

A 2025 meta-analysis found significant falls in weight, fasting glucose, HbA1c and LDL. But the 12 trials it pooled used doses from 125 mg to 40,000 mg a day — a 320-fold range.

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

In a double-blind crossover trial of 44 people, 12 g a day of chicory inulin raised stool frequency from 3 to 4 a week. But some of the researchers worked for the institute of the company that makes that inulin, and the change is one stool a week.

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

Arugula

A dose-response meta-analysis of 75 randomised trials in 1,823 people. Medium-term systolic pressure fell 0.48 mmHg per millimole of nitrate. That is a small figure, and since the USDA carries no nitrate value for arugula, there is no way to say how many millimoles a plateful holds.

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

Cauliflower

25 kcal and 4.97 g of carbohydrate per 100 g. Against cooked rice (about 130 kcal and 28 g per 100 g) that is a fifth of the energy and the carbohydrate. As a brassica, it falls within observational data linking cruciferous vegetables to lower cardiovascular disease and mortality.

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

Daikon radish

At 18 kcal per 100 g it sits close to cucumber, with 22 mg of vitamin C. Observational data link cruciferous vegetables to lower cardiovascular disease and mortality. The old claim that it aids digestion has no established evidence behind it.

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

Artichoke

A meta-analysis of nine randomised trials in 702 people found artichoke extract lowered total cholesterol by 17.6 mg/dL. HDL did not move, and what was tested was a leaf extract, not a boiled artichoke.

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

Brussels sprouts

More vitamin C than an orange, at 85 mg, and 177 µg of vitamin K. Cruciferous vegetables tracked with lower cardiovascular disease and mortality, but that is observational and not about Brussels sprouts specifically.

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

Asparagus

52 µg of folate and 41.6 µg of vitamin K for 20 kcal. And in a study of 6,909 people, close to 60% could not smell asparagus in their urine — it is genetic.

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

Bell pepper

128 mg of vitamin C per 100 g of red pepper. The Cochrane review, though, found no reduction in colds.

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

Kale

390 µg of vitamin K, 93.4 mg of vitamin C and 254 mg of calcium per 100 g. Lutein is 6,260 µg — but the AREDS2 primary analysis was not significant.

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

Potato

Total potato intake showed no association with type 2 diabetes risk. Only fried potato did, at a hazard ratio of 1.12.

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

Pumpkin

2,790 µg of beta-carotene in 37 kcal per 100 g baked. Beta-carotene supplements, though, increased lung cancer in smokers.

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

Kimchi

There is evidence that fermented foods help the gut microbiome. But that research did not isolate kimchi, and kimchi arrives with salt attached.

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

Onion

Onion's antioxidant quercetin concentrates in the outer layers. Peeling two extra layers out of habit throws much of it away.

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

Carrot

Carrot beta-carotene is locked inside tough cell walls. Cooking plus a little fat multiplies how much you absorb.

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

Spinach

"Spinach equals iron" is only half true. The real value sits in folate, vitamin K, and the lutein that accumulates in your eyes.

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

Sweet potato

The beta-carotene and fibre are a clear win, but how you cook a sweet potato can nearly double its effect on blood sugar.

Vegetables

Moderate evidence

Garlic

The evidence for garlic points to a modest drop in blood pressure and cholesterol. The trick is to crush it and wait ten minutes before it hits the heat.