At some point in our lives, mom said, "eat your greens." And mom was right. A vast majority of our ancestors nutrition was greens. Or bodies cry for it, yet it is one of the most neglected groups of food in our diets.
An great article I recently read listed these as the top 10 leafy greens:
1. Kale
2. Collards
3. Turnips
4. Swiss Chard
5. Spinach
6. Mustard Greens
7. Broccoli
8. Red/Green Romaine
9. Cabbage
10. Iceberg Lettuce
As our primal ancestors traveled, they picked green leafs along the way and may have consumed pounds per day! Greens served as the leading food for obtaining important nutrients. In fact, greens are calorie-for-calorie the most nutrient dense foods available to humans. Some of these nutrients and minerals include:
Magnesium
Calcium
Potassium
Manganese
Foalte
Betaine
Vitamin K
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
B Vitamins
As a strength coach, this was an 'ah-ha' moment and solved a childhood question of mine: why does spinach give Popeye so much strength!!! Greens contain nutrients that support or body's mitochondria, the organelle responsible for producing ATP (our body's energy source).
Additionally, the nutrients support brain function and are a rich source of phytonutrients that protect our cells from damage and our eyes from age-related problems.
What is great about consuming these power-packed plants is that despite being a carbohydrate, it's impact on blood glucose is very limited. The carbohydrates found in plants are within the fiber, which is slow digesting and thus do not spike your insulin (a major contributor to weight gain).
Fill up those plates with greens. It worked for Popeye.
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