When it comes to how good for you they are, vegetables can be as variable as spouses. But with veggies (well, and maybe spouses, come to think of it), it's all about how you choose them and how you treat them. Do it right with these tips:

Get steamed. Steaming might improve the cholesterol-lowering capabilities of certain types of produce. Steamed veggies -- beets, okra, carrots, eggplant, green beans, asparagus, and cauliflower -- did a better job of binding to bile acids. Why that's good: More bile acids get excreted, which means your liver needs more bad LDL cholesterol to make bile. That, in turn, allows less LDL to circulate in your body -- so there's less to sit around and cause trouble in your arteries.

Go frozen. Some fresh veggies are picked before their nutritional peak to survive long-distance travel and storage. In addition, the longer they're on the shelf, the fewer nutrients they retain. So when the fresh stuff in the store looks sorry, head for frozen. These veggies are harvested at peak ripeness and flash frozen immediately, preserving the good stuff.

Add fat. It's not enough for veggies to hold nutrients; you need to absorb them in order for the nutrients to do you any good. Carotenoids, vitamin E (in spinach and broccoli), and vitamin K (cabbage, cauliflower, turnip greens) can be coaxed into your body with a little healthy fat, such as a dab of olive oil or a few walnuts.