Recent studies suggest that leafy vegetables prevent cancer and are good for your heart. So what is considered a leafy vegetable? The most common ones are arugula, broccoli, collard greens, romaine lettuce, spinach, green cabbage, and other types of lettuce. Leafy green vegetables have a lot of health benefits. Leafy vegetables are also low in calories, low in fat, and high in fiber. They are also rich in certain fat-soluble vitamins: A, K, D, and E, and they even contain small amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids.
Vitamin A is the sight vitamin. Many times during our childhood our parents would tell us to eat carrots because they will make our eye sight good. In addition to improving our vision, it also keeps our cells and membranes healthy so bacteria doesn’t grow, and makes our skin healthy. One of the first signs of not getting enough vitamin A is not being able to see in the dark. You will also have dry skin, hair, and broken nails. In addition to leafy vegetables, vitamin A is also found in pumpkin, squash, apricots, meats, and dairy. However, because this vitamin is so important many of our foods are becoming fortified with it. Pregnant women can especially benefit from vitamin A. It helps with the development of the eyes, heart, skin, bones, and helps the baby to be resistant to infections.
Vitamin D helps to give us strong bones. It also helps protect from high blood pressure, cancer, and depression. It is a naturally occurring vitamin and it is found in a variety of foods. In addition to leafy vegetables, it is found in milk, yogurt, salmon, tuna, and eggs. When we eat these foods or are out in the sun our body produces vitamin D. The most common diseases that happen when you don’t get enough vitamin D are bone softening diseases: Rickets, Osteomalacia, and Osteoporosis.
Vitamin E helps to protect our immune system and is an antioxidant. It prevents tissues in our body breaking down by forming red blood cells and muscle. Vitamin E has been found to prevent heart disease, cancer, and certain vision disorders. If you are not getting enough vitamin E, you will feel weak and you could become blind. Along with leafy vegetables, vitamin E is also found in eggs, whole grains, milk, kiwi, and mango.
Vitamin K helps our blood clot and helps prevent osteoporosis. People who do not have enough vitamin K usually bruise easily. It is recommended that adult men and women get about 90 mcg a day. Vitamin K can also be found in some vegetable oils.
Along with eating your leafy vegetables to get these important vitamins, you can take a good multivitamin. Multivitamins are good because they fill in the gap for vitamins and minerals that you may be missing in your diet. The vitamins that are water soluble will just take what is needed and pass the rest through your system.
Leafy vegetable have many benefits. The most important is getting your vitamins. These vitamins are important to keeping your body healthy. Make sure you eat a well balanced diet so you can get the other important vitamins and minerals.
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