Unbalance your diet

The traditional approach to getting a balanced intake of phytonutrients is to aim for a variety of produce in the diet. But there's a new and growing trend away from balance. Some experts are suggesting that, possibly, the intake of fruits and vegetables should be unbalanced, to give much greater weight to "powerhouse foods."

These powerhouse items pack a bigger nutritional punch and fall into one of four groups: dark green, leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale; yellow-orange vegetables and fruits, including carrots and winter squash; cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, bok choy and cabbage; and citrus fruit.

The approach is controversial and has pros and cons. So what's best--variety or powerhouse? Try for overall balance with extra emphasis on these four powerhouse groups; and try to select the most colorful items from each group.

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