Greens: The Best Medicine Money Can Buy
Did you know that all of the medicine you need is right in front of you, abundant, and ready when you are? It’s so simple, but the foods that can keep us in good health are the ones we ignore the most: any kind of greens. Eating greens is like getting prescription medicine that works and has no side effects — except for super health.
You know you need them, but are you counting french fries as a serving of vegetables? We need vegetables of all colors, but we especially need dark green leafy vegetables. Greens contain tons of vitamins and minerals. They help detoxify your blood and can help prevent cancer and other disease. Greens are good for liver function and help build healthy intestinal flora. And they also keep your system alkaline, therefore creating an environment in which bad bacteria and diseases like cancer can’t stand!
The best greens are broccoli, kale, spinach, cabbages, dandelion and mustard greens, arugula, swiss chard, and beet greens, but any kind of dark leafy green is good. If you like lettuce, stick with the dark green, red, or purple kinds! While iceberg lettuce may be greenish, it really doesn’t have the nutritional value of deeply colored greens, so don’t count restaurant salads and condiments that feature iceberg lettuce as a green.
You need to eat greens with every meal, so here's how you can get them in:
- Add spinach or spring mix to your breakfast smoothie and you won’t even know it's there.
- Get adventurous and make green smoothies with kale and spinach!
- If you eat scrambled eggs, serve them on a bed of greens, or throw the greens in for the last few minutes of cooking time.
- At lunch you can add greens to your sandwiches and wraps, or add a handful to your soup.
- Choose greens instead of other filling items at restaurants and you'll naturally leave behind less healthy foods such as potatoes, starches, breads, and white rice.
When a patient becomes sick, one of the first things a doctor will prescribe is folic acid. Folic acid is nothing more than the synthetic version of folate. Folate comes from the latin word "folium" which means leaves! You can avoid doctor visits in the future by just adding the greens now, so you won’t be prescribed the synthetic version later! Listen to your mom and your doctor, and eat your greens. I promise you won’t be sorry.
Ready to learn more about how to unlock the power of food to heal your body, prevent disease & achieve optimal health? Register now for our FREE Functional Nutrition Webinar with Kelly LeVeque.