The Health Benefits of Green Leafy Vegetables

The colour green could save your life and significantly improve your quality of life. Lets face it, green istables not a colour we necessarily warm to easily. When it comes to food, green is , well, “yuk”. As adults, we know it is good for us but getting  our children to love the green stuff is not an easy task. And even as adults, we would rather go red, yellow or orange than green.

Generally, green leafy vegetables are relegated to the side salad or any other kind of salad. Often, it is interspersed with so many other things, like bacon, cheese and cups of salad dressing that you tend to forget you are eating green. But what about spinach, kale, cabbage and Swiss chard? Some of us may have never heard of kale and Swiss chard since these  green leafy vegetables  are virtually absent from the dinner table and dining out menus.

The health benefits of green leafy vegetables are huge. They are known to lower your risk of cardiovascular disease, contribute to weight loss, reduce cancer risk and help control type II diabetes. Why are green leafy vegetables so potent? They contain Lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoids and flavonoids and oxalic acid which protect you from any thing from poor eyesight to colon cancer. Here are a few of the health benefits associated with some of these super foods.

1. Swiss chard contains 13 different polyphenol antioxidants including kaempferol and syringic acid. Researchers have found that syringic acid regulates blood sugar. Swiss chard also contains phytonutrients called betalains which have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

2. Kale has a reputation as a cancer fighting leafy green. It has organosulfer compounds that can reduce the occurrence of certain cancers as well as polynutrients that can neutralize potential cancer cells.

3.Spinach has been shown, in a recent study, to protect against the occurrence of aggressive prostate cancers. Spinach also has some unique cancer preventative properties such as epoxyxanthophylls cartenoids.

This is a small sample of the super health benefits of a few leafy green vegetables. If you can’t find kale and Swiss chard in your grocery stores, try growing them as they are very easy to grow. A little green can make you slimmer, ward of type II diabetes and protect you from cancer and heart disease.