Weight Loss Help: Top 10 Superfoods - #6 Leafy Green Vegetables

It goes without saying that you need to eat your vegetables. Especially the dark green leafy ones. Green leafy vegetables are very nutrient-dense and incredibly healthy. They are a vital source of antioxidants that are very beneficial to providing weight loss help. People have often known how nutritious leafy greens are, but still choose to exclude them from their diet. However, if everyone truly understood the powerful capabilities of vegetables in a healthy diet, nobody would go without them.

There are many types of leafy green vegetables, but the four most nutritious have been described below.

Kale is a descendant of wild cabbage and was a very popular vegetable amongst peasants in the Middle Age's. Kale is by far one of the most nutritionally dense vegetables around. Just take a look at the nutrition facts below and you will see, that for only 50 calories, Kale provides three times the amount of vitamin A needed in a daily diet. That's incredible! Kale also is high in folic acid and comes with a ton of potassium.

Spinach is thought have originated in Persia. Currently, the United States is among the top commercial producers of spinach in the world. Popeye references aside, spinach is incredibly nutritious. It's high in vitamin A and C and comes with a ton of iron.

Swiss chard is similar to spinach. In the fourth century B.C., the Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote about the health benefits of chard. Swiss chard is high in vitamin C and vitamin K as well as rich in calcium.

Romaine lettuce has been cultivated since, at least, 4500 B.C. It was first planted in the United States in 1493 by Spanish Missionaries in California. Nowadays, California is the lettuce capital of the United States. Lettuce is also very nutritious. The darker the lettuce, the better. Lettuce contains a ton of magnesium.

Dark leafy green vegetables come with a ton of health benefits. Perhaps more so than any of the other 10 superfoods we have discussed so far. What makes leafy greens so incredibly, is the extraordinary amount of antioxidants and health promoting nutrients they manage to pack inside of so few calories. Eating dark green leafy vegetables on a regular basis can provide anti-aging benefits, help with weight loss, cancer and disease prevention and improve heart health.

Anti-Aging Benefits of Leafy Green Vegetables

There are a ton of nutrients in green leafy vegetables that help slow the aging process. Folate is one of them. When combined with other B-complex vitamins, folate has been shown to help regulate mental functions. Also, folate has been linked to preventing Alzeimher's disease. Another important nutrient in leafy green vegetables is vitamin E. Vitamin E has been linked to slowing down the aging process by several research groups. In one study, conducted by the National Institute of Aging, vitamin E was found to decrease the cause of mortality by 27%.

Leafy Green Vegetables Provide Weight Loss Help

Because leafy green vegetables are so low in calories and so high in nutrients, they are essential to any dieting plan to improve personal health. Dark green leafy vegetables are also very high in fiber. Fiber, as we know from the opening page in this series, helps make you feel fuller more quickly. Therefore, adding vegetables to your diet is a great way to help you decrease calories without feeling deprived.

Cancer and Disease Prevention

Leafy greens' high level of antioxidants make them one of the best cancer-preventing foods around. It has been concluded that eating leafy greens 3 or more times a week has proven to significantly reduce the risk of stomach cancer. If you eat green leafy vegetables once per day, it can reduce your chances of getting lung cancer by half. Also, including leafy greens on a daily basis is shown to help prevent breast and colon cancer.

Improved Heart Health

Research conducted at Harvard Public School of Public Health concluded that eating green leafy vegetables every day will reduce your risk of coronary disease by up to 23%. This is because the antioxidants in leafy green vegetables help to prevent free radicals from lining artery walls and the rich fiber content helps remove unwanted plaque build-up on those walls. In another study, it was shown that one extra serving of vegetables a day lowered the risk of cardiovascular disease by as much as 11%.

Dark green leafy vegetables are high in:

• Vitamin's A, C, E & K
  
• Potassium
• Magnesium
• Antioxidants
• Iron
• Calcium
• Folate
• Many B-vitamins

The health benefits of adding leafy green vegetables are enormous. There is no reason not to incorporate the vegetables into your diet. In fact, you are punishing yourself by not doing so. If you want to improve your personal health and get some weight loss help, then you must start eating more leafy green vegetables.

When selecting leafy green vegetables, make sure that the vegetable is fresh and has no signs of browning or yellowing. The colors of the vegetable should be bright and it should be moist. Leaves should not be wilted or have any tiny holes.

Generally, prices of leafy green vegetables range anywhere from $1.00 to as much as $4.00 depending on the season and location.

This kale recipe is by dwieberg at allrecipes.com.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves coarsely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and ground black pepper to tast

Directions

1. Cook the kale in a large, covered saucepan over medium-high heat until the leaves wilt. Once the volume of the kale is reduced by half, uncover and stir in the garlic, olive oil and vinegar. Cook while stirring for 2 more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This recipe provides 4 servings and can be ready to eat in 20 minutes.