I believe the headline of the article is based on flawed assumptions, and the base assumption is that some foods are universally better than other foods and that is something I don't agree with at all.  If a food is unprocessed and raw and not contaminated with toxins it has the potential to be healthy for you in some circumstances. If you study nutritional typing, you will understand that each of us have different optimal foods based on our unique biochemistry and genetics.

Although vegetables are typically one of the healthiest foods you can eat, certain vegetables may cause your blood pH to become more alkaline, but cause someone else's blood pH to become more acidic. Optimization of your blood pH is an important aspect of staying healthy, so it is important to understand which vegetables are best for you.

Another way you can determine if a specific vegetable is good for you is to listen to what your body tells you. If you just simply can't stand the taste of a particular vegetable, then that is probably a clue telling you it’s not good for you and should be avoided.

Also, remember to get organic vegetables whenever possible. However, it’s still better to eat non-organic vegetables than no vegetables at all. Another option is to look for locally grown produce. For great tips on where to find locally grown, organic produce see my previous article, “How to Get Inexpensive, Organic, Locally-Grown Vegetables.”

In the same vein, it’s also better to eat regular fresh vegetables than organic vegetables that are wilted and clearly past their prime -- even if they are sitting in a health food store.

The problem with vegetables is that they are so perishable, which is why you have to be careful. One trick to increase your cold-storage capacity is by removing most of the air from the plastic bag you store them in, and tying the bag securely so it resembles a vacuum-pack look. This can increase the shelf life of the vegetables by 200-300 percent.

"Eat your fruits and vegetables" is one of the tried-and-true recommendations for a healthy diet -- and for good reason. Eating plenty of raw fruits and vegetables can help you:

• Ward off heart disease and stroke
• Control blood pressure and cholesterol
• Prevent some types of cancer
• Avoid a painful intestinal ailment called diverticulitis
• Guard against cataract and macular degeneration, two common causes of vision loss.

The major problem most people have in applying this recommendation, though, is that they only apply the first half and have the sweet fruits, but not the vegetables.

It is my opinion that nearly all of the benefit from the "fruit and vegetable" recommendation is from the vegetables and not the fruit, which is typically much higher in sugars that can raise your insulin levels. Therefore, one of the best things you can do is to reverse the order. Turn it around in your mind to "vegetables and fruit" and your brain will finally start to understand the relative importance of the two. Eventually you will begin selecting more vegetables than fruit.  

There is compelling evidence that a diet rich in vegetables and fruits can lower your risk of heart disease and stroke.

The largest and longest study to date, done as part of the Harvard-based Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study, included almost 110,000 men and women whose health and dietary habits were followed for 14 years. The higher the average daily intake of vegetables and fruits, the lower the chances of developing cardiovascular disease. Compared with those in the lowest category of fruit and vegetable intake (less than 1.5 servings a day), those who averaged eight or more servings a day were 30 percent less likely to have had a heart attack or stroke.

Although all fruits and vegetables likely contribute to this benefit, green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, mustard greens, and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, and kale, appear to be exceptionally healthy as long as they are appropriate for you nutritional type,