Our last story of the week is about vegetables that are supposed to be so good for us they're called "super vegetables". The story and the quiz are mainly about nutrition, so make sure you find out how the word "nutrition" is used and the words that are related to it.


MARY GEARIN: Do you guys like broccoli?

GIRL: Yes.

BOY: No!

MARY GEARIN: Would you eat more broccoli if it was better for you?

GIRL: Yes!

BOY: Yep!

MARY GEARIN: Yes, these kids are probably bluffing, but their test will come in a few years. That's when certain alimentary superheroes are set to fly above the rest of the bunch on the market shelf, promising even more cancer-fighting qualities.

Scientists and growers were quietly gloating over their greens today as the Australian and New Zealand Governments launched their new Vital Vegetable brand.

It's a 5-year project costing $20 million, which will eventually encompass more vegetables, but it'll start with broccoli.

It already has the glucosinolate, vitamins and antioxidants that science is certain improve the body's defenses against cancer.

This project will hunt for the broccoli types with the highest amount, before selectively breeding a brand with optimal levels of the compounds.

It means they've found broccoli with 40 times more chemicals that can slow or prevent cancers of the alimentary canal and potentially lower cholesterol levels that can lead to cardiovascular disease.

And of course making sometimes-dreaded greens super nutritious offers an intriguing possibility.

MARY GEARIN: Is there a limit as to how many cancer-fighting chemicals you can or should put in vegetables or any food?

PROFESSOR MARK WAHLQVIST: If you were growing them within the limits that are there in nature that is an important check and balance. And if also you are doing it as part of a varied, diversified diet, it is also likely to be safer.

MARY GEARIN: But that it seems could be the nub of the problem.

PROFESSOR JOHN CATFORD: In fact, we have very many nutritious vegetables at the moment and the challenge is that we're not eating them.

Three out of four Australians don't eat their recommended five serves a day.

LAURA GENTILE: If it tastes bland or whatever, it wouldn't attract me at all.

MEGHAN SMITH: If you eat too much broccoli you probably turn into a tree!

MARY GEARIN: It's not yet known how much more the Vital Vegetables brand will cost although the project's research has suggested people would be prepared to pay more.

The research is in its infancy but for the vegetable-phobe, there's yet more hope -- the same scientists are planning to breed more flavour back into our florets.