ArcaMax

If you think arugula, wasabi, cabbage and daikon radishes don't have anything in common, think again. They are all cruciferous vegetables -- as are broccoli, Brussels sprouts, collards, kale, rutabaga, turnips and bok choy! If you eat a variety of these foods every day you get a good dose of vitamins C, B9 (folate) and K (not for folks on warfarin or coumadin blood thinners -- OK if on others), plus magnesium and flavonoids, as you beef up your immune system, metabolism, gut biome, heart health and help prevent certain cancers, such as breast, pancreatic, colon and prostate (without a bit of beef in the diet, please!).

Well, the VESSEL study (that's VEgetableS for vaScular hEaLth) reveals that cruciferous vegetables also can lower your daytime systolic blood pressure (the upper number) measurably over the course of two weeks when eaten at lunch and dinner. And they do it better than if you were eating root veggies like sweet potatoes and carrots -- plus they reduce triglyceride levels.

One great way to get your daily supply, especially if you aren't a big fan of these veggies, is to make a vegetable soup -- with or without added protein from lean chicken. Check out "WTEW Vegetable Soup" and "Chickpea, Chestnut & Kale Soup" in Dr. Mike's "The What to Eat When Cookbook" and kale-based "Daphne Oz's King of Greens Salad" at keyingredient.com. You can also help control blood pressure by eating bananas, blueberries, beets and kiwis, as well as salmon and ocean trout, which are packed with omega-3s.

Dr. Mike Roizen is the founder of www.longevityplaybook.com, and Dr. Mehmet Oz is global advisor to www.iHerb.com, the world's leading online health store. Roizen and Oz are chief wellness officer emeritus at Cleveland Clinic and professor emeritus at Columbia University, respectively. Together they have written 11 New York Times bestsellers (four No. 1's).

(c)2025 Michael Roizen, M.D.

Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

(c) 2025 Michael Roizen, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.