Nature's best medicines

　　It's easy to forget these champs when they become b ackground noise in the supermarket hype of "new" and "l ite." Don't let them get eclipsed. Beneath their everyd ay exterior, these foods are health-giving powerhouses. Each made it onto our list because it has the double-di p advantage of being tasty as well as being able to pre vent more than one health problem.

　　Put all of these foods in your grocery basket every week, and you'll get compliments on dinner. And be arou nd to get those compliments for a long, long time.

　　This champion crucifer speaks many languages and is welcome in cuisines worldwide—steamed, stir-fried, blan ched, baked, raw.

　　Broccoli

　　True, broccoli may not have won any presidential me dals, but it has heroic potential to fight today's majo r diseases:

　　(1) It's stuffed with compounds that may block canc er. One of these steps up the body's production of a we ak estrogen. This weak version seems to replace the "re al" estrogen that's implicated in breast cancer.

　　(2) It offers heart protection through vitamin C. T his antioxidant vitamin helps keep arteries elastic and helps prevent blood from getting sludgy. A single servi ng of broccoli gives us 97% of our Daily Value (DV) of vitamin C.

　　(3) It contains glutathione, which may reduce the r isk of arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease, as well as bolster the immune system, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and keep people at a healthy weight, ac cording to a small, recent study.

　　(4) It helps guard against cataracts and the leadin g cause of blindness over age 65—macular degeneration—b ecause it's rich in beta-carotene and its cousin lutein .

　　The amount of broccoli you might need to prevent di sease hasn't been quantified. Put it on your weekly sho pping list right now—in any quantity. Broccoli can defi nitely be a contributor to your total score of five fru its and vegetables. Incidentally, just 1/2 cup is consi dered a serving, and delivers an impressive 2 grams of fiber!