Spring is in the air!
Do you know notice that you naturally crave lighter foods and more greens during this time of year?
Today’s food as medicine is all about spring Greens. Not your regular, run-of-the-mill kind of greens. Today we talk about some different kinds of greens, to spice things up.
And since food can be your medicine, or a slower form of poison, we talk about how all greens are not created equal.
Some need to be cooked in order to keep your thyroid functioning well. Some need to be cooked so they don’t contribute to kidney stones. Many are easier on the system when combined with good quality fat.
Cooked or not, they should be eaten. Greens are the food most missing in the modern diet. Nutritionally, greens are high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc, and Vitamins A, C, E and K. They are crammed with fiber, chlorophyll and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals.
Because of all their goodness, many people think “all things green” is the way to go, but make sure you learn how food affects you before you “go for it”.
Like I mentioned, different greens should be eaten in different ways.
Swiss chard, spinach and beet greens are examples of greens that are best eaten cooked. These greens contain oxalic acid that can leach calcium from the bone. This then has to be processed through the kidneys and can sometimes contribute to getting kidney stones.
Simply sautéing these greens with butter and adding flavor with different spices is an easy way to minimize oxalic acid from these greens, helping them to contribute to your mineral balance and therefore you kidney health, versus contribute to the formation of stones.
You always want to make sure you’re consuming enough Vitamin D3 when you are consuming high calcium foods since D3 acts as a transportation channel to deliver calcium into the bone. When calcium is delivered to the “wrong place”, we can also exacerbate our risk for kidney stones as well as stiffness because calcium can sometimes get deposited in the soft tissue vs. the bone without enough D3 to take it where it needs to go.
Okay, back to greens!
What about the thyroid you ask?
200 million Americans are dealing with Hypothyroidism. If thyroid health is a concern for you, it’s very important you prepare your greens in a way that will help your thyroid, not hurt it.
Raw green cabbage for example, contains something called goitrogens, a naturally occurring component in food which can block thyroid function and thus contribute to hypothyroidism.
They do this by inducing antibodies that cross-react with the thyroid gland; others interfere with thyroid peroxidase (TPO), the enzyme responsible for adding iodine during production of thyroid hormones. Either way, goitrogens block the thyroid from producing as many of the hormones that are needed for regulating metabolism.
Other goitrogenic greens/veggies include:
Broccoli
Broccolini
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Chinese Broccoli
Collards – yes, collards. If you watched the video, you’ll see I made a mistake there not saying to blanch the collard first before using it as a wrap!
Kale
Kohlrabi
Watercress
The good news is the reverse is also true. If you have an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), you can use these foods eaten RAW to help regulate the thyroid down a bit (always get your lab values checked when it comes to the thyroid!).
With spring in full bloom salads and juicing are great ways to get your daily greens in.
Be adventurous, try new things! Spring is the season for Dandelion greens, which are great for flushing the liver.
Click HERE for some ideas for butter lettuce salads.
Juicing greens like dandelion greens can be a little bitter so paring them with romaine lettuce and cucumbers or apple is a great way to balance that out.
Check out recipe for Mean Green Juice:
Another fabulous and different green to add to your daily greens intake are micro-greens. Micro-greens are plants that are harvested in the first 10 to 14 days of sprouting and are often more nutritious than their mature counterparts. Sprinkling these on salads is a great super-fast and yummy way to get your greens in!
When purchasing your greens you definitely want to choose organic. Once greens have been sprayed with pesticides or chemicals there is no way to thoroughly wash them to remove all the chemicals, and that certainly affects their nutrient value.
Enjoy getting in your spring greens!
