5 Health Benefits of Eating Dark Leafy Greens

Intro:

Dark, leafy greens are some of the best vegetables on the planet.

Not only do they go great with steak and salad, but they’re also awesome additions to a healthy diet from a fitness/wellness perspective.

Heck—vegetables (including the dark, leafy variety) are even good for curing a classic case of the munchies!

Veriheal puts it like this:

“Raw veggies and ranch dip is the quintessential healthy snack. For a healthier dip version, mix a ranch dressing packet with sour cream and eat with your favorite vegetables.”

(Not a bad idea, right?)

In fact, you may not realize exactly how good they are for you until you take a closer look at the nutrition information on the label!

In fact, that’s exactly what we’re going to do in this post.

We’re going to pull back some of those layers, and unveil just how good for you those leafy green vegetables can be.

Let’s dive in to talk about 5 of the most amazing health benefits of everyone’s favorite dark leafy greens.

Table of Contents

1. They’re Good For Your Brain

One of the best things about dark, leafy green veggies is that they help to support memory and reasoning functions in the brain.

As we get older, these processes can tend to ‘fade’ a bit.

But some studies have found that cognitive decline is slower in those who’ve eaten big portions of green leafy veggies over the years.

Thankfully, this isn’t too difficult to do.

There are plenty of delicious healthy leafy greens to choose from, including:

Kale
Microgreens
Collard greens
Spinach
Cabbage
Beet greens
Watercress
Romaine lettuce
Swiss chard
Arugula
Endive
Turnip greens
Bok choy
Broccoli

2. They Help To Reduce Stomach Bloating

Nowadays, with so many processed foods coming at us from every direction, stomach bloating, gas, and intestinal issues can sometimes seem commonplace.

But they’re not supposed to be.

One great thing about dark leafy greens is that they help to restore regular activity to the digestive tract. They actually contain large amounts of potassium, which is a mineral and an electrolyte.

This basically means that greens can work to help fight bloating—which is sometimes caused by an excess of sodium.

They’re just all-around great for your gut!

3. They Help Your Skin

Dark leafy greens are also good for your skin.

For example—many dark leafy greens contain stout levels of a form of vitamin A, also called Beta-carotene.

This vitamin is usually (famously, in fact) associated with orange veggies, like carrots. But green leafy vegetables are also a great source of it.

Anyway, this vitamin is good for many things in the body—including skin support. It helps your skin to retain a youthful glow, and even helps to protect you from destructive UV rays.

Note: If you’re looking for the best green leafy vegetable for your money to help with skin health—kale really takes the cake.

4. They Help With Stress

Yes, believe it or not—those green vegetables that your grandma used to threaten to send you to time-out over may actually help you to reduce stress!

As it turns out, these veggies are a great source of a vitamin called folate, which basically helps your body to create more of the hormones serotonin and dopamine. These hormones help to counter your cortisol levels—which is the hormone responsible for your stress response.

If you blend a bunch of this stuff up into a smoothie, you’ll have the makings of a veritable anti-stress shake right at your fingertips.

That’s pretty handy, right?