Many friends have said that they don't know what dark green leafy vegetables are and don't know which green leafy vegetables to eat.
12 Health Benefits of Green Leafy Vegetables
The benefits of dark green vegetables have been proven in numerous studies both domestically and internationally, and their benefits are far beyond the imagination of most people. In summary, there are 12 main benefits:
1. Beneficial for preventing osteoporosis
Dark green vegetables provide a large amount of calcium, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin K. Adequate intake of potassium and magnesium can reduce the loss of calcium, and vitamin K is essential for calcium deposition on collagen in bones. Many green leafy vegetables, such as oilseed rape, bok choy, and celery, are also good sources of calcium with low oxalate content.
2. Beneficial for maintaining normal vision
Dark green leafy vegetables provide a large amount of carotenoids and lutein. All dark green leafy vegetables are rich in carotenoids and lutein. Spinach, among other dark green leafy vegetables, has the highest lutein content. Carotenoids can be converted into vitamin A in the human body, and the consumption of vitamin A increases during low light and changes in light intensity (such as when using computers, phones, or watching TV). Lutein not only helps prevent eye fatigue in people who use their eyes intensively, but also has a definite effect in preventing age-related macular degeneration.
3. Beneficial for preventing vitamin deficiencies
Green leafy vegetables provide a considerable amount of vitamin B2. People who eat a lot of green leafy vegetables rarely suffer from diseases related to vitamin B2 deficiency, such as angular cheilitis, tongue pain, swollen and painful lips, or scrotal eczema. Green leafy vegetables are also relatively rich in vitamin C. Although cooking can lead to a loss of up to half of the vitamin C, it is still much higher compared to the vitamin C supplied by apples, pears, and peaches.
4. Beneficial for preventing birth defects
Green leafy vegetables provide abundant folic acid. As the name suggests, folic acid is a vitamin that is abundant in green leafy vegetables and is the most important source of folic acid in the diet. Folic acid deficiency increases the risk of birth defects and also leads to an increase in homocysteine levels. In middle-aged and elderly people, an increase in this indicator also means an increased risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
5. Beneficial for weight control
Compared to vegetables such as tomatoes, radishes, and winter melon, green leafy vegetables have a higher dietary fiber content. Consuming half a pound of lightly cooked green leafy vegetables in a meal can effectively increase satiety and slow down the emptying of food from the stomach, which is beneficial for controlling food intake. Diets for weight loss must include a large amount of green leafy vegetables, which can reduce the feeling of hunger while reducing staple food and fat intake, ensuring sustainable weight loss.
6. Beneficial for preventing diabetes
Research has shown that adding green leafy vegetables to a meal with the same amount of staple food can slow down the rise of postprandial blood sugar. At the same time, several epidemiological studies have shown that a high intake of green leafy vegetables significantly reduces the risk of developing diabetes.
7. Beneficial for preventing and controlling hypertension
Green leafy vegetables provide a large amount of potassium, calcium, and magnesium. The green color of green leafy vegetables comes from chlorophyll, which contains magnesium. Therefore, the darker the green color, the higher the magnesium content. Potassium, calcium, and magnesium can counteract the hypertensive effect of sodium to a certain extent.
8. Beneficial for preventing coronary heart disease
Increased intake of vegetables helps reduce inflammation in the body and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Epidemiological studies have shown that people who eat more vegetables have a lower mortality rate from cardiovascular diseases, especially ischemic heart disease. The effects of cruciferous vegetables and dark green leafy vegetables have been confirmed.
9. Beneficial for preventing various cancers
Epidemiological studies have shown that an increased intake of vegetables reduces the risk of various cancers, including esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. Compounds such as sulfur glycosides in cruciferous vegetables, as well as chlorophyll, flavonoids, and carotenoids, may contribute to these benefits.
10. Beneficial for preventing Alzheimer's disease
Several epidemiological studies have confirmed that increasing the intake of vegetables and fruits is beneficial for preventing age-related cognitive decline. However, when analyzing different types of vegetables and fruits separately, it was found that dark green leafy vegetables were most effective in preventing cognitive decline.
11. Beneficial for improving athletic performance
Dark green leafy vegetables are rich in nitrates, which are non-toxic and slowly converted into nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide helps expand blood vessels and improve blood circulation, which is not only beneficial for preventing cardiovascular diseases, but also for increasing an athlete's maximum oxygen consumption and improving athletic performance.
12. Beneficial for combating pollution
Studies have shown that chlorophyll, dietary fiber, and various phytochemicals in green leafy vegetables help reduce the absorption of pollutants, promote their elimination from the intestines, improve liver detoxification, and reduce the mutagenic effects of carcinogens. In a polluted world, eating dark green leafy vegetables is an important self-protection measure.
China is one of the countries with the most varieties and lowest prices of green leafy vegetables. The wide variety of dark green leafy vegetables has amazed many European friends who have visited. Unfortunately, many people in our country have not enjoyed such affordable and healthy food and are willing to spend a high price on various health products.
The criteria for selecting dark green leafy vegetables are simple: the leaves should be large in proportion and have a deep green color, even bordering on black. Tests have shown that the darker the color of leafy vegetables, the higher the content of nutrients such as folic acid, vitamin K, vitamin B2, lutein, carotenoids, and magnesium. Therefore, when buying vegetables, don't just choose those with light green color and ignore those with dark green leaves!
Recommended Healthy Green Leafy Vegetables
Here are some common and highly nutritious dark green leafy vegetables. Have you tried any of these varieties?
Cruciferous vegetables: Chinese broccoli, mustard greens, bok choy, oilseed rape, flowering Chinese cabbage (when young), Chinese flowering cabbage (stem elongation stage), Chinese toon (also known as Chinese bean paste vegetable or watercress), broccoli, radish leaves, kale, watercress, etc.
Umbelliferous vegetables: fennel, coriander, leafy celery, etc.
Asteraceae vegetables: large-leaf lettuce, lettuce stems (small-leaf lettuce), romaine lettuce, dark green lettuce varieties, etc.
Liliaceae vegetables: Chinese chives, garlic sprouts, young leeks, etc.
Convolvulaceae vegetables: sweet potato leaves, water spinach, etc.
Other common dark green leafy vegetables include spinach, amaranth, wood ear lettuce (wild amaranth), alfalfa sprouts, Swiss chard (beet greens), purple back amaranth, etc. These vegetables have high nutritional value, but also contain high levels of oxalic acid. Purple back amaranth also contains trace amounts of the toxic substance "pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA)". It is recommended to blanch them before consumption to remove most of the oxalic acid and soluble alkaloids.
Some sprouts from seeds turn dark green after exposure to light and are also considered dark green leafy vegetables, such as pea sprouts, black bean sprouts, peanut sprouts, buckwheat sprouts, radish sprouts, Chinese toon sprouts, sunflower sprouts, wheat sprouts, etc.
There are many other leafy vegetables that belong to the category of dark green leafy vegetables, including shepherd's purse, purslane, bitter vegetables, and willow sprouts.
Because the common names of vegetables vary in different regions, there may be some new varieties that you may not have seen before. If you don't know what they look like after reading the names, don't worry, just search for their images on a search engine and you will understand!
