March 18, 2014 – Greens Forever: Make Everyday St. Patrick’s Day. Eat Your Vegetables
Make Every day St. Patrick’s Day. Eat your vegetables.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Green is the color associated with St. Patrick’s Day. Green fruits and vegetables have a beneficial effect on people’s health. Yet people do not eat enough of them.
Green vegetables contain chlorophyll, a powerful antioxidant that helps to clear persistent organic pollution from the body. zeaxanthin, lutein, and other phytochemicals found in green vegetables help with vision and can reduce the risk of cataracts or macular degeneration.
According to the National Cancer Institute, indoles, which are in green vegetables, have been shown to inhibit development of certain cancers in rat and mice studies. A human study published in ‘Gynecologic Oncology’ found indole-3-carbinol to be more effective than the placebo in reducing abnormal cell growth.
Some yellow vegetables are also in this category; lutein is what gives them their yellow color. Folate, another component, helps cell growth.
There are so many green/yellow fruits and vegetables to choose from: artichokes, arugula, asparagus, avocados, bok choy, broccoli, broccoli rabe, brussel sprouts, celery, Chinese cabbage, cucumbers, endive, green apples, green beans, green cabbage, grapes, green peppers, honeydew, kale, kiwi, leafy greens like dandelion, collard and mustard greens, leeks, lettuce, limes, peas, rutabaga, snow peas, spinach, sugar snap peas, swiss chard, turnips, watercress, zucchini. It’s a long and luxurious list.
In addition to wearing green for St. Patrick’s day, fill up your plate with lots of green vegetables! It can be as simple as adding an avocado to a hamburger or eating the parsley used as garnish. And make every day St. Patrick’s Day, Try to eat 2-3 servings per day of green or yellow vegetables. A ½ cup of cooked vegetables or a cup of salad. Now, that was easy.
Your in good health,
Karen Wright, Nutritionist
Reference:
Bell MC, Crowley-Nowick P, Bradlow HL, et al. Placebo-controlled trial of indole-3-carbinol in the treatment of CIN. Gynecologic Oncology 2000;78(2):123-129.
