Dark Green Leafy Vegetables
Dark Green Leafy Vegetables
In the world of nutrition, leafy greens like kale, spinach, arugula, and chard are without a doubt unsung heroes. The benefits of leafy greens are amazing for your health in more ways than you could ever imagine because they are low in calories while high in fiber, vitamins, and phytonutrients.
Leafy greens can make you look younger and can even encourage healthy aging, whether they are consumed as whole foods, in smoothies, or in the form of organic greens powders. Let’s talk about leafy greens in general, their advantages, and how to incorporate them into your diet. Several vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, C, and K, and folate, are abundant in dark green leafy vegetables (such as iron and calcium).
Synonyms of Dark Green Leafy Vegetables
- Veggie
- Leafy vegetable
- Earthnut
- Herbaceous plant
- Raw vegetable
Nutritional Facts of Dark Green Leafy Vegetables
- Loaded with Vitamins
All leafy greens include a wealth of vitamins found in nature. The high vitamin content of kale, spinach, moringa, and cabbage is well recognized, though. From these veggies, you can obtain significant amounts of vitamins A, K, E, C, beta-carotene, folate, B1, B2, B3, B5, and B6.
- Rich Mineral Content
By consuming green leafy vegetables, you may naturally supplement your diet with minerals including iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, calcium, phosphorus, and salt. By including a suitable number of minerals in each bite, they assist in meeting the daily need and overcoming dietary mineral deficiencies.
- High in Dietary Fibers
Green leaves are high in fiber, which makes you feel full after eating them.
- Low-Fat Content
You can avoid consuming fats and lipids by eating these leafy greens because they almost completely lack fat.
Phytochemical Constituents of Dark Green Leafy Vegetables
- Carotene,
- Ascorbic acid,
- Riboflavin,
- Folic acids
- Minerals like calcium, iron, and phosphorus
Therapeutic Uses of Dark Green Leafy Vegetables
- Heart Caretakers
In many ways, leafy greens support a healthy heart. They contain folate, which guards against heart disease and stroke, potassium, which lowers high blood pressure, and fiber, which controls cholesterol. Their wide variety of antioxidants can also guard against the harm caused by free radicals, which is a major factor in atherosclerosis.
- Bone Potency
Leafy greens are rich in vitamin K, calcium, and magnesium, all of which are necessary for the synthesis of osteocalcin, a chemical that helps grow bones. Dark leafy greens are an excellent source of calcium to keep your bones strong. Vitamin K is abundant in green leafy vegetables like broccoli and kale, which helps prevent osteoporosis.
- Strengthen Immune System
Vitamin A and Beta-carotene concentrations are high, which enhances immunological function. Leafy greens like spinach, kale, and collards are rich in vitamin D, which helps to support regulatory T cells, which can accurately distinguish between “self” cells and external intruders. Active vitamin D makes your immune system more intelligent by teaching it not to attack itself and preventing the development of autoimmune illness.
- Disease Prevention
Leafy green vegetables have also been proven to help prevent some diseases since they are a good source of vitamins and minerals that are essential to maintain a healthy body and strengthen the immune system. For instance, iron deficiency (anemia), vitamin deficiency disorders in children, weight issues, poor eyesight, weakened immunity, aging symptoms, blood clotting, constipation, weak bones, folate deficiency, cancer, heart disease, and high cholesterol are all caused by mineral deficiencies.
Home Remedies of Dark Green Leafy Vegetables
- Vitamins A, C, E, and K are all plentiful in spinach. It provides us with healthy skin and aids in the treatment of acne. Applying a spinach mask to your face will help if you have acne breakouts. When spinach is blended with a little water and applied to the face for 20 minutes, debris, oil, and inflammation are removed from the skin, and the skin is rejuvenated.
- Consuming cabbage juice helps with numerous alleged advantages, including weight loss, enhanced gut health, balanced hormones, reduced inflammation, and body purification. Cabbage juice is a rich source of nutrients, including vitamins C and K.
- Significant levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which are well recognized to be anti-inflammatory, can be found in broccoli juice. Additionally, because broccoli includes sulforaphane, a substance that inhibits the enzymes that can damage joints and create inflammation, broccoli can benefit persons with arthritis.
Ayurvedic Aspects of Dark Green Leafy Vegetables
Consuming leafy green vegetables is the finest way for us to keep an upward trend on our nutritional health chart, according to Ayurveda. Leafy greens provide healthy fluids and fiber that aid in the purification of “shrotas” (the subtle tracks of our body). Additionally, they promote “prana,” or life force, which nourishes the body and intellect.
Daily Dose: Green leafy vegetables should be consumed in amounts of 100g per day for adult women, 40g per day for an adult man, and 4-6-year-old children, and 50g per day for boys and girls over the age of 10.
Side Effects of Dark Green Leafy Vegetables
Leafy green veggies can cause allergic responses if consumed in extreme quantities. If you have any of the following signs of severe allergies, seek a doctor’s help right once.
- Itching
- Gas
- Bloating
- Rash
- Swelling
- Dizziness
- Difficulty in breathing
- Dehydration
- Constipation
- Stomach cramps
Article Written By: Dr. Sahil Gupta, Ayurvedic Allergy Specialist
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