Green vegetables are the most commonly missing food in modern diets. Learning to incorporate dark leafy greens into your diet is essential to establishing a healthy body and immune system. When you nourish yourself with greens, you may find that you don’t crave the foods that make your sick.
Green is associated with Spring – a great time to renew and refresh. In traditional Chinese medicine, green is related to the liver, emotional stability and creativity.
Nutritionally, greens are very high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc, vitamins A, C, E, and K. They are also a great source of fiber, folic acid, 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 dark leafy greens:
- blood purification
- cancer prevention
- improved circulation
- strengthened immune system
- improved liver, gallbladder and kidney function
- cleared congestion, especially in lungs, by reducing mucus
Cooking Greens
Try a variety of methods like steaming, boiling, and sauteing. Boiling helps greens plump and relax. Boil for under a minute to avoid losing nutrients in the water. Steaming makes green more fibrous and tight, which helps you feel fuller, longer!
Till next time, here’s to being FIT and HEALTHY at any age!
