Remember how your folks used to pile your plate full of nutritious vegetables and prevent you from ever obtaining dessert? Their logic has some merit, after all.
Five of the healthiest dark green leafy vegetables are broccoli, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, and romaine lettuce. All five have the dark green color in common, contain antioxidants, and are customarily high in their soluble fiber content.
For years, there has been a lot of information and news about antioxidants. Research has proven that antioxidants help strengthen your immune system. They have also been proven to reduce diseases such as cancer.
When you cook certain foods, they may lose their nutrients. One of the great benefits of cooking these dark green leafy vegetables is that they taste good when they are slightly cooked or eaten raw. This allows these vegetables to retain most of their nutrients.
Broccoli:
Kids tend to like to eat broccoli because it is fun to think that they are eating tiny trees. In fact, broccoli tends to have twice the amount of vitamin C of an orange in its small florets.
Here are some fun facts about broccoli:
- Broccoli is an excellent source of fiber. It contains both soluble and insoluble fiber. The fiber contained in broccoli makes it a great addition to your diet.
- Broccoli has a few other great benefits. Eating broccoli can help restore your sun-damaged skin, boost your immune system, and helps reduce your risk of heart disease. In addition to these benefits, broccoli promotes healthy bone growth because it is packed full of enormous amounts of calcium.
Kale:
Kale is a leafy green that’s somewhat bitter, chock full of folate and potassium, and might excite your taste buds. Include some into your stir-fry, and you might just become entranced entirely.
Kale is great for your hair, skin, and nails because it contains folic acid. Another added benefit is that kale contains potassium. Potassium is known to help your muscles break down the lactic acid that builds up after a workout; this makes it great to eat to help you combat muscle soreness.
Swiss Chard:
Swiss chard is a leafy green vegetable that is similar to spinach. It is rich in vitamins C, K, and calcium and goes well in various salads.
Since Swiss chard has vitamin K, it is excellent for your eye health and brain function. Eating Swiss chard the next time you have to concentrate at your computer all day will help you ensure your brain is receiving the nutrients it needs.
Spinach:
Spinach is another delicious green leafy vegetable that is packed full of vegetables. This dark green leafy vegetable contains an excellent taste, vitamin A and C, and iron. In addition, spinach promotes strong bones, muscles, and brain function.
For a little variety, use spinach in your salad instead of lettuce. This will give your traditional salads a twist and an explosive taste.
Romaine Lettuce:
Lettuce may not come to your mind when you think of dark green vegetables. Unlike lighter shades of lettuce of iceberg, romaine lettuce has a darker color and has more nutritional value. Romaine lettuce is packed with antioxidants and fiber, even though it is made up mostly of water. Since it is a darker shade of green than other types of lettuce, it contains more folic acid, which helps to prevent heart disease.
Here are some of the complex attributes of lettuce:
- Lettuce is low in calories, making it great for your diet.
- Romaine lettuce contains magnesium, and this is great for revitalizing your muscular tissues, as well as your brain and your nerves.
- Romaine lettuce contains chlorophyll, which is excellent for maintaining your natural hair color.
- It is high in iron, which helps form your red blood cells.
- Romaine lettuce is beneficial in other ways as well. It helps treat insomnia, colitis, constipation, acid indigestion, stress, gout, and other diseases.
While you might have been forced to eat your dark green veggies as a kid, now you know why it was so important. Even today, your dark greens are vital to your health and well-being. Try these dark greens in some new recipes; you might surprise yourself and enjoy it!
