Raw leafy greens are some of the best foods we can eat.
They are high in so many essential nutrients humans need to survive that they are by themselves a kind of superfood.
Raw leafy greens contain magnesium, which is vital to human health, amino acids and protein, fiber, iron, Vitamins K and C, and calcium.
They are also low in fat and calories.
An adequate supply of raw leafy greens each day helps us with overall good health for several reasons: First, the chlorophyll in leafy greens is rich in magnesium.
Magnesium is not made in the body, and we must get it from magnesium rich sources, such as spinach and Swiss chard.
Magnesium helps hundreds of enzymes in the body function as they should.
It is a chief operator in calcium absorption and works with it to keep bones strong.
It regulates heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels.
It helps with the immune system and body metabolism.
It can even relax your muscles and ease muscle tension.
Magnesium ions are essential in human cell health.
All the body's major systems need magnesium to operate properly.
It may play a significant role in the treatment of several health concerns, such as asthma, diabetes, hypertension, heart attack and lupus, among several others.
Protein is made from amino acids, of which some are used in maintaining metabolism.
Humans need additional amino acids, as there are some present in the body, but not enough to sustain it.
The rest must come from foods.
The essential amino acids in raw leafy greens can provide enough to increase protein production in the body.
Proteins are active in cell function and shape.
It is proteins that form our hair and nails, and the cartilage of our noses and in the joints.
Motor proteins help us with muscle movement.
Dietary fiber, or roughage, is actually indigestible, but essential for good colon and digestive health.
Raw leafy greens contain fiber and the body uses it to keep the colon clean and to ease fecal elimination.
There are two types of dietary fiber, soluble and insoluble, and plants provide both.
Maintaining a diet high in raw leafy greens will help prevent constipation and intestinal discomfort.
Raw leafy greens are very rich in iron, which is necessary in almost all living creatures.
This mineral is responsible for producing hemoglobin, which carries oxygen to various parts of the body.
The body cannot function as it should without iron, and anemia can occur without enough of it.
This leads to fatigue and even mental exhaustion.
When combined in the body with amino acids, iron is even more productive in making hemoglobin.
Vitamin K is a necessary nutrient for bone repair and preventing osteoporosis.
It is essential in blood clotting.
Vitamin K is a natural healing nutrient, and may prevent cancers, and infection in the intestinal cavities.
Vitamin C also works as a healing and protecting nutrient, like Vitamin K.
It is an antioxidant that also aids in the healing of scars, burns, and certain illnesses, and the production of proteins to form cartilage.
We don't make or store Vitamin C, and we have to ingest it with our foods.
Calcium has long been known to help in bone density and the prevention of osteoporosis.
But it may also prevent colon cancer.
Like the other nutrients discussed, it is necessary for life.
All these nutrients are found in raw leafy greens.
An added benefit is that there is little to no fat or calories in raw leafy greens, but an abundance of easily absorbed nutrients in them.
The fact that they are water based is another plus.
With these factors, raw leafy greens are one of the best sources of nutrition we have.
They help in maintaining optimal health.