It grows in the clear water of ditches, one sometimes crosses it without even noticing it, and yet it has just scored the best possible mark in an American study that scrutinized dozens of fruits and vegetables. Not 95, not 98: 100 out of 100. This achievement is serious enough to give a serious boo…
It grows in the clear water of ditches, one sometimes crosses it without even noticing it, and yet it has just scored the best possible mark in an American study that scrutinized dozens of fruits and vegetables. Not 95, not 98: 100 out of 100. This achievement is serious enough to give a serious boost to a vegetable that most French people associate mainly with a garnish to accompany meat, without imagining that it reaches the top of a serious nutritional ranking. This small plant's exploit deserves attention, if only to understand what distinguishes a common, almost banal plant from a food that certain researchers already qualify as an absolute reference in terms of nutritional density. Watercress, the only plant to score a perfect mark of 100 out of 100
The name of this discreet champion? Watercress, this aquatic plant with small round leaves that is traditionally found in damp ditches and watercress beds in several French regions. According to a ranking established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American health agency, watercress is the only vegetable food to have obtained a maximum score of 100 out of 100 on a nutritional density scale covering 47 fruits and vegetables. Behind it, we find other well-known green leaves among salad enthusiasts: Chinese cabbage, credited with a score of around 92 points, followed by beet greens and turnip greens. A ranking that has something to surprise, as watercress remains today a niche product, far from the most frequented aisles of supermarkets. Why did the CDC create this nutritional density ranking? This particular palmarès was not born out of a simple desire to classify vegetables for pleasure. It is a tool thought up to help identify the most effective foods on a nutritional level, that is to say those that provide the maximum benefits for a minimum of calories. The researchers behind this method, affiliated with William Paterson University in New Jersey, made an important methodological choice: instead of comparing foods for 100 grams, as is often the habit, they preferred an evaluation for 100 kilocalories. This choice completely changes the game. It allows measuring not just the richness in nutrients of a food, but its nutritional efficiency, taking into account its caloric contribution. Seventeen nutrients considered protective have thus been scrutinized: potassium, fibers, calcium, iron, but also vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D, E and K. Among the 47 tested foods, 41 obtained a sufficient score to merit the title of superfood, a category where watercress now reigns supreme. However, it is necessary to nuance this perfect score: obtaining 100 out of 100 does not mean that watercress covers the entirety of daily nutrient needs. It is rather a capped score, which aggregates the contribution of each of the 17 nutrients studied to draw an exceptionally complete global profile. What makes watercress so exceptional on a nutritional level? In concrete terms, what justifies such performance? Watercress stands out above all by its remarkable content in vitamin K, essential for blood coagulation and bone health, as well as in vitamin C, whose concentration even exceeds that found in an orange, a usual reference in this matter. It also provides an interesting amount of pro-vitamin A, in the form of beta-carotene, a plant pigment with well-documented antioxidant properties. But the most surprising asset of watercress may be hidden in its more discreet chemical composition. This plant contains, indeed, sulforaphane and 3,3′-diindolylmethane, also known as DIM. These two compounds, also present in other cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, are the subject of particular scientific interest for their potentially protective properties against certain cancers. Nothing trivial, therefore, for a plant that we still associate too often with a simple decorative element in the dish.
How to integrate this watercress from the ditches into your daily life
Despite this particularly solid nutritional file, watercress remains paradoxically absent from common eating habits, both in France and in the United States. It must be said that its slightly peppery, almost spicy flavor does not charm everyone at first glance, and its presence remains discreet on the stalls, far from the popularity of a green salad or a tomato. Yet, France has a genuine know-how in this area. Île-de-France remains the leading region in watercress production in the country, with Essonne as the top-producing department, for a national production that reaches several thousand tons each year. Enough to recall that this plant, far from being exotic, is an integral part of a sometimes forgotten vegetable heritage. To enjoy its benefits without upsetting your habits, a few simple ideas are enough: a few fresh leaves added to a composed salad, a cress-based velouté prepared for cooler evenings, or a handful slipped into a sandwich to bring a bit of freshness and character. Here are some easy-to-adopt tips at mealtime:
- In a salad, mixed with other young shoots
- In a velouté, mixed with a potato and a little cream
- As a fresh garnish on a slice or a sandwich
- As an accompaniment to grilled fish or meat
This CDC classification thus highlights a vegetable that we often cross without paying attention, when it alone concentrates a good part of the nutrients considered essential to a balanced diet. At a time when we are looking for superfoods from elsewhere, it may be time to take a closer look at what is growing discreetly in the ditches of our regions. And if the next well-being trend were to be found within reach, in a watercress patch rather than in an imported products aisle?
