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Green Leafy Vegetables1
Terrell Cummings and Donna Davis 2While there are plenty of people I know who say that chocolate is the only food group we need, reality reminds us that eating a variety of foods with different nutrients is necessary for good health. One food group that many Americans skimp on is the vegetable group, especially the dark green, leafy vegetables. Although young children often don't enjoy the strong taste of some deep green vegetables, serving them in a variety of ways can help them acquire a taste for these nutritional powerhouses.
As a group, the leafy greens are rich in vitamins A and C, dietary fiber, and the minerals iron and calcium (Center for Young Women's Health, 2005). The benefits of including these vegetables in your diet are impressive. For example, research indicates that a diet rich in dark green leafy vegetables lowers risk for a variety of cancers (American Institute for Cancer Research, 2007).
Leafy greens include kale, collard greens, mustard greens, and spinach, just to name a few. Many of these vegetables have pungent tastes, which can be an intimidating flavor to some people. If taste is a factor, try various preparation methods, such as combining greens into pastas and casseroles, or serving with rice or potatoes to mellow the flavor. Spinach and arugula are delicious served raw in salads.
No matter how they are prepared, dark green leafy vegetables are a great nutritional boost to any diet. Green is one color you don't want to miss in your or your family's diet!
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References
American Institute for Cancer Research. (2007). Foods that fight cancer: dark green leafy vegetables. Retrieved May 8, 2007, from http://www.aicr.org/site/pageserver?pagename=dc_foods_greensThe Center for Young Women's Health at Children's Hospital Boston. (2005). Dark green leafy vegetables. Retrieved May 8, 2007, from http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/leafy.html
Footnotes
1. This document is FAR8030, one of a series of the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. First published February 2008. In the interest of time or clarity, the broadcast version of this script may have been modified. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.2. Terrell Cummings, undergraduate student, and Donna Davis, Senior Producer, Family Album Radio, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. Reviewed by Linda Bobroff, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, and R. Elaine Turner, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Florida.
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.
Copyright Information
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