Health Benefits of Salad Greens

Build your bonesSpinach,radicchio and watercress may not immediately come to mind as foodsfor keeping bones strong, but all contain lots of vitamin K. A study at TuftsUniversityin Boston found that low dietary intake of vitamin K in women was associated with low bone mineral density. (Thestudy didn’t find a link in men.) Just one cup (250 mL) of chopped watercresshas 100 percent of your daily vitamin K; radicchio, 120 percent; and spinach,170 percent.Sharpen your eyesightTosstogether a salad of spinach,romaine and red leaf lettuce: They all contain loads of the carotenoids vitaminA, lutein and zeaxanthin’key to seeing better. Vitamin A helps eyes adapt from brightlight to darkness. Lutein and zeaxanthin can help filterout high-energy light that may cause eye damage from free radicals.Rev up your musclesRecentSwedish research found that inorganic nitrate ‘abundant in spinach‘resultedin muscles using less oxygen. Thestudy, which had healthy participants ride an exercise bike before and aftertaking a dose of nitrate, found it improved the performanceof the mitochondria’which power our cells’in muscles.Protect your heartWhipup a Caesar salad to benefit from romaine’s high levels of two heart-healthynutrients: Two cups (500 mL) of shredded romaine contain 40 percent of yourdaily needs of folate and 10 percent of fibre. A study done at TulaneUniversity in New Orleans showed that the higher the level of folate in aperson’s diet, the lower the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease. Soluble fibre hasbeen shown to reduce the level of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) or ‘bad’cholesterol.Reduce risk of diabetesChronic magnesiumdeficiency has been linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes andthe development of insulin resistance. Twocups (500 mL) of spinach contain 16 percent of your daily magnesium needs;arugula has six percent.