Do You Really Need Leafy Greens?

The Importance of Leafy Greens

Leafy greens are a nutrient rich superfood, an absolute necessity in your diet, and I can all but guarantee you're not eating enough. Unless you're eating roughly 3 cups of leafy greens a day, you should be consuming more. If this sounds like a lot to you, it's important to understand that leafy greens are the absolute foundation of a healthy plant-based diet and, especially considering the immense benefits you get from them, it's not at all hard to fit them into your diet. Today we'll talk about a few important reasons why you should prioritize leafy greens in your diet.

Optimize Brain Health

Leafy greens are packed with B vitamins, in particular folate (B9), and folate has been linked directly to combating brain-related disease as well as improving memory and concentration. However, it's not just the B vitamins contributing, this study shows how vitamin K, lutein, B-carotene, and other nutrients all found in leafy greens contribute to keeping your brain optimally healthy.

Extend Life

We have protective caps on the ends of our DNA called telomeres and the length of these telomeres are directly correlated with lifespan. A cell's telomeres will shorten more and more with time and when the telomeres are gone, the cell dies. This is vital information to understand because the anti-oxidants, vitamins, and fiber found in dark leafy greens are directly correlated with lengthening telomeres. Dark leafy greens help to keep our telomeres from shortening, which helps to keep our cells alive, which help to keep us alive.

Gut Health

Due to the strong relationship between our gut and our overall health, gut health is a major focus of ours. It comes at no surprise that leafy greens are one of the most important foods for supporting a healthy gut, and by supporting a healthy gut, it's be extension supporting your overall health. They primarily do this by feeding your beneficial gut bacteria the exact type of food it wants to eat: plant-based fiber. By providing this food source directly to your beneficial bacteria you are building up your microbiome which will lower inflammation, defend you from infectious illness, regulate your immune system, and almost countless more benefits.

Eat More Greens

This should be a foundational food for anyone looking to extend life, have more energy, reduce inflammation, boost your immune system, develop a healthy gut microbiome, optimize your brain health, clear up your skin, and overall live a healthy life free of disease. I strongly recommend eating a salad everyday with some of the most nutrient rich greens such as spinach, kale, arugula, microgreens, swiss chard, and collard greens. If you add in 3 cups of these super foods a day, I guarantee you'll feel the difference.

God Bless,
Mercy Ballard