Maca Avocado Chocolate Mousse Cake
If you’re anything like me then chocolatey-ooey-gooey goodness is your weakness. I came across a recipe before that screamed my name when it said AVOCADO...
Read MoreSeptember 25, 2017
We have all heard it before “EAT YOUR GREENS” Perhaps as a child your parents told you to finish your greens or you wouldn’t get dessert and even as adults we are always being told to consume more vegetables, especially green leafy ones. But why? What is it about green food that makes it so nutritious and beneficial for us opposed to the rest?
“Eat Your Greens”
So what is green food? To name a few, some commonly used and some not-so-commonly used vegetables amongst this list includes spinach, spirulina, chlorella, kale, chard, blue-green/red/brown algae, wheatgrass, and barley grass. One thing these vegetables all share is chlorophyll, a type of plant pigment that holds responsibility for absorption of light to initiate photosynthesis and create energy. It can be found in all green plants, certain algae and bacteria. Chlorophyll is linked to cancer prevention and blocks carcinogenic effects within the body. The benefits of chlorophyll are decreased with cooking, thawing from frozen, spoiled vegetables so best consumed either raw or lightly cooked using lower temperatures.
First and foremost, green vegetables offer a hefty source of antioxidants, which protects our body against viruses and are huge supporting block for our immune system. Greens are very rich in minerals and many essential nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and vitamins B, C, E, and K which are key to maintaining our bodies optimum health. The dark green, leafy vegetables like kale, spinach, collard greens and swiss chard are high in omega-3 fatty acids which are incredibly important to our body and brain health. Green vegetables help alkalize our bodies and keep our PH levels balanced which helps with our digestion, improving energy levels, supporting our immune system, chronic inflammation and premature aging.
On the detoxing side of things, chlorophyll and high chlorophyll grasses are considered cleansing greens and help aid with rejuvenating liver detoxification. The cleansing greens support us during detoxification because they are highly nutrient dense without putting strain on our digestive system with a large amount of material to metabolize. Chlorophyll helps our bodies detoxify by connecting with toxins and free radicals and turning them into neutral materials. Adding in a shot of wheatgrass juice into your cleanse can aid in the removal of toxins and impurities in the body. Wheatgrass – a cleansing favourite of many is extremely rich in protein and contains 17 amino acids (building blocks of protein) and can assist with healing and disease prevention as well as alkalizing your body.
The benefits of consuming green food is clearly vital for our optimum health. With incorporating more green vegetables into our daily diets we can help maintain our cellular wellness and function, boost our energy levels, improves digestion, detoxify our bodies and prevent diseases. We should all encourage another to “EAT OUR GREENS!”
