More green stuff in your diet increased nutrition, vitamins and well being Posted By : Robb Stark

Many health and diet columns praise greens but few have any imagination beyond mentioning salad and spinach. There and plenty of overlooked super healthy vegetables within the same category and there any many reasons to wolf them down because they are packed with nutrition and healthy ingredients. So skip the diet pills and read on for some tips and reasons on why you should go greener.

Vegetables are usually divided into two categories; fine vegetables and rough vegetables. Leaf vegetables belong to the fine category. The line between the two categories is distinguished by the amount of fibres they contain. Rough vegetables contain between two and three times more nutritious fibres than fine. In spite of the lower amount fibres in fine vegetables they are extremely healthy. This is because they contain many other favourable substances. Read on to learn about the four most important ones.

Chlorophyll is what makes leafs green. It also contains the mineral magnesium and is chemically reminiscent of haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is present in meat and your blood, where it binds and transports oxygen. The difference is that haemoglobin is based on iron and not magnesium. Because they are similar, a diet containing a lot of green leafs help prevent the cancerous effect meat can have on the lower intestines. This is why it is important to eat a lot of greens if you are a meat lover. Chlorophyll also prevents damage on the cells' DNA molecules when they are attacked by cancerous substances in the form of Alfa toxins. DNA damage can be prevented by fifty five percent by an intake of one hundred milligrams of chlorophyll three times a day. This equals a little more than half a cup of chopped raw spinach every day. All you have to look for everyday is the colour; the greener the leafs, especially dark green, the more chlorophyll they contain.

Folic acid is a vitamin B which is present in many leaf vegetables. Folic acid is an important vitamin for the brain. If you add a lot of it to your diet you will be able to keep your head sharp and prevent the increasing memory loss as you get older. Folic acid keeps the level of homocystein in your blood on the lower side. Homocystein increases the loss of brain cells and keeping the levels low helps improve your general brain functions.

Green leaf vegetables also contain high levels of omega-3. Omega-3 is an essential acid, even more so if you do not have a lot of fish in your diet. Several researches have shown that a regular intake of omega-3 prevents heart and vascular diseases. It is probably important for everyone, fish eater or not, to remember to include omega-3 in their diet for a healthier life.

Vitamin K is also highly present in many green leaf vegetables. Vitamin K can probably decrease the deterioration of the skeleton, and is also able to bind the proteins in the skeleton which are responsible for the build up of calcium. Vitamin K is also a contributing factor when it comes to the blood's ability to clot properly. This means that a lack of vitamin K hinders the effect blood thinning medicines have.


Source: http://www.articles-galore.com/Article/More-green-stuff-in-your-diet---increased-nutrition--vitamins-and-well-being/31955

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