Go Green In 2018

Okay, so you’ve probably heard this time and time again but this time you’re really going to listen (*read). Ready? You need to consume more greens! Not only are leafy greens packed with vitamins, minerals,fibre  and are a fantastic boost of energy but they are also essential for muscular endurance. Oxygen explains the ‘why’ behind consuming more greens and the ‘how’ to get them into your diet today!

- Marissa Nieves

Sure, green leafy vegetables provide us with chlorophyll, the wonderful bone builder and powerful antioxidant. We all know it’s a superfood, but what about our muscular endurance? Is it really possible to sculpt our bodies using these highly nutritious greens whilst warding off infection and disease?

Some green leafy veggies even give us the gift of vitamins B5 and B6, essential for the metabolism of protein, and the immune and nervous systems.

These are some of the powerhouses that provide us with easy-to-eat, hard-to-beat nutrients that create the lean, healthy bodies we all wish for! In addition to these wonderful traits, green leafy veggies are also known to help fight disease and prevent illness. As athletes (and we are all athletes in our own right!), we know how important it is to keep the body moving and able - and this is nobody’s responsibility but our own.

Harvard Health agrees: “Eating plenty of vegetables and fruits can help you ward off heart disease and stroke, control blood pressure, prevent some types of cancer, avoid a painful intestinal ailment called diverticulitis, and guard against cataracts and macular degeneration, two common causes of vision loss.”

Although all fruits and vegetables likely contribute to this benefit, it is documented that green leafy vegetables - such as lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and mustard greens; cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, bok-choy, and kale; and citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit (and their juices) - make important contributions.

And it’s not just the raw foodies singing “go green!”; doctors all over the world are now prescribing organic food to their patients in an effort to see long-term results (finally!).