10 Foods That Pack a Wallop
Eat, drink and be healthy! Scientists are rapidly identifying the natural chemicals that give preventive punch to a rainbow of ordinary edibles
By Janice M. Horowitz

Food, of course, is a necessary ingredient for good health. But is it more than that? Can eating the right foods in the right combination actually prevent disease? In the past few years, research on the subject has exploded. Scientists have started to identify what may be hundreds—even thousands—of natural chemicals in foods that seem to have preventive powers. These aren't just vitamins and minerals but a whole new bouquet of strange-sounding compounds—starting with the latest nutritional superstars, the phytochemicals.

In the pages that follow, we've used this research to prepare a shopping list of 10 foods that pack a nutritional punch. That clove of garlic in your refrigerator? That jar of nuts in your pantry? Used correctly, they may have the power to prevent all kinds of serious ailments, including heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. You may never look at a tomato the same way again. (Or, as it turns out, a potato.)

A word of warning: you can find many of these compounds in dietary supplements, but they might not do any good. "Food is very complex," says JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital. "It may be the combination of antioxidants, phytochemicals and fiber that work together to confer health benefits."

Fortunately, nature has given us a handy rule of thumb. Many of the very chemicals that make foods good for us are the ones that give them color, turning blueberries blue, spinach green and carrots deep orange. For optimum health, scientists say, eat a rainbow of colors. Your plate should look like a box of Crayolas.