Did you know that green vegetables are the most commonly missing food in modern diets?
Learning to incorporate dark leafy greens into the diet is essential to establishing a healthy body and immune system. Greens help build your internal rainforest while strengthening the blood and respiratory system. When you nourish yourself with greens, you may naturally crowd out the foods that make you sick. Leafy green vegetables are also high-alkaline foods. Alkaline minerals in our bodies neutralize acidic conditions caused by the environment. Green vegetables help to replenish our alkaline mineral stores and filter out pollutants.
Green is associated with spring – the time of renewal, refreshment, and vital energy. In Chinese medicine, green is related to the liver, emotional stability, and creativity. Nutritionally, greens are very high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc, and vitamins A, C, E, and K. They are loaded with fiber, folate, chlorophyll, and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals. Although choosing organic is recommended, eating non-organic greens is still preferable to not eating any greens at all.
Benefits of Consuming Dark Leafy Greens:
- Anti-inflammatory
- Blood purification
- Cancer prevention
- Improve circulation
- Strengthen immune system
- Increase energy
- Improve function of liver, gallbladder, and kidneys
- Cleare congestion/reduced mucus build-up
- Promotion of healthy gut flora
Experiment with Greens
There are a wide variety of greens available year round, so explore options that you can enjoy and eat often. If you get bored with your favorites, be adventurous and experiment with new greens that you’ve never tried before.
Greens include (but not limited to): bok choy, cabbage, kale, collards, watercress, mustard greens, broccoli rabe, spinach, dandelion, arugula, endive, chicory, lettuce, mesclun, wild greens, beet greens.
Rotate a variety of fresh greens into your diet to achieve the maximum benefits.
Cooking with Greens
Try a variety of methods like steaming, sautéing in olive or coconut oil, water sautéing, steam-sautéing, or waterless cooking. Steaming makes greens more fibrous and tight, which helps you feel fuller, longer. This is a great method to help curb your appetite for those trying to lose weight. Raw salad is also a convenient preparation for greens. It’s refreshing, cooling, and supplies live enzymes.