Greens to Live By
If there is one food group that should be consumed every single day without fail, that would be the dark leafy green category. This covers a wide range of greens. Most importantly, cruciferous options. Cruciferous greens include: kale, collard greens, Swiss chard, arugula, mustard greens, cabbage, bok choy, and watercress. Other greens such spinach, beet greens, romaine, and dandelion greens are also incredible sources of vitamins and antioxidants. Greens offer the most nutrition per calorie for a whole food. All of these leafy greens can be referred to as a functional food source, meaning they are crucial for one’s health and can act as a barrier against diseases.
What’s in a Color?
Greens embody chlorophyll which is the green pigment within their leaves and contain a multitude of antioxidants. During one study, volunteers drank a carcinogen which was a solution of radioactive aflatoxin with or without chlorophyll from spinach. The solutions with chlorophyll, which equaled six cups worth of spinach, showed to block nearly 40% of the carcinogen (1). In How Not To Die by Michael Gregor, M.D., he compares the greens we eat to leaves on trees as there is a cycle of different pigments throughout all growing leaves. When fall rolls around and leaves start to change colors, those colors were actually there all along, they were simply just wrapped in a green hue (chlorophyll) during the spring and summer months. This color breaks down later in the year revealing yellow and orange coloring. The greens on our plates actually also contain various pigments as well, loaded with antioxidants (2). So, when we eat our greens, we are actually eating the rainbow.
What Can Green Do For Me?
Brain Health - Containing Vitamin K, lutein, beta carotene, and folate, the consumption of green leafy vegetables may help to slow cognitive ability decline with age (3). A whole-foods, plant-based diet is preferred for optimal brain health, but even if you aren’t adhering to a perfect plant-based diet, you can help to decrease the risk of cognitive decline just by incorporating brain-nutrient greens into your diet each day. A study done through Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center showed that people who consumed approximately 1.3 servings of leafy greens a day had slower decline in brain function which is the equivalent of about 11 years younger than those who consumed a smaller amount (approximately 0.09 servings a day) (4). You can get more than that amount in our Organic Burmese Chickpea Curry.
Breast Health - In addition to a plant-based diet, leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables are highly effective in lowering breast cancer risk (5). In addition to the many vitamins and antioxidants, the folate in greens has been shown to help and prevent the risk of breast cancer (6).
Bone Health - Dark leafy greens are among the best sources of calcium. How do cows get their big, strong bones? From eating green plants! Calcium is a mineral found in soil that takes form in plants as they produce roots, stems, leaves, and fruits. Just 1.5 cups of kale contains 25% of your daily calcium requirement. For optimal nutrient absorption, it’s important to thoroughly chew your greens to break down the plants’ cell wall (7). Just 1.5 cups of kale? You can get that and more with our Organic BBQ Tempeh Caesar Salad.
Greens at P.S. & Co.
Organic BBQ Tempeh Caesar Salad - Chopped lacinato kale served with organic caesar dressing, organic maple BBQ marinated tempeh, pickled onions.
Organic Burmese Chickpea Curry - Mama’s Burmese chickpea curry with forbidden rice, and lacinato kale.
Organic Forbidden Grain Bowl - with forbidden rice, chimichurri, rawcho cheese, roasted mushrooms, bell pepper, sautéed lacinato kale.
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1 Greger, M., & Stone, G. (2018), 314. How not to die: Discover the foods scientifically proven to prevent and reverse disease. Pan Books.
2 Greger, M., & Stone, G. (2018), 313. How not to die: Discover the foods scientifically proven to prevent and reverse disease. Pan Books.
3 Morris MC, Wang Y, Barnes LL, Bennett DA, Dawson-Hughes B, Booth SL. Nutrients and bioactives in green leafy vegetables and cognitive decline: Prospective study. Neurology. 2018 Jan 16;90(3):e214-e222. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000004815. Epub 2017 Dec 20. PMID: 29263222; PMCID: PMC5772164.
4 Morris MC, Wang Y, Barnes LL, Bennett DA, Dawson-Hughes B, Booth SL. Nutrients and bioactives in green leafy vegetables and cognitive decline: Prospective study. Neurology. 2018 Jan 16;90(3):e214-e222. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000004815. Epub 2017 Dec 20. PMID: 29263222; PMCID: PMC5772164.
5 it's empowering': Surgeon Kristi Funk on diet and Reducing Breast Cancer Risk. Forks Over Knives. (2021, September 28). Retrieved August 18, 2022, from https://www.forksoverknives.com/wellness/surgeon-kristi-funk-diet-reducing-breast-cancer-risk/
6 Chen P, Li C, Li X, Li J, Chu R, Wang H. Higher dietary folate intake reduces the breast cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Cancer. 2014 Apr 29;110(9):2327-38. doi: 10.1038/bjc.2014.155. Epub 2014 Mar 25. PMID: 24667649; PMCID: PMC4007237.
7 Dark leafy greens. Michael Klaper, MD. (n.d.). Retrieved August 18, 2022, from https://www.doctorklaper.com/dark-leafy-greens
