Essential Supplement: Green Foods?

A good diet will contain at least 10 servings of fruits and vegetables, with vegetables comprising two thirds of those servings. But I understand that eating fruits and vegetables throughout the day can be a hassle. The problem with these foods is that you often have to prepare them, especially vegetables. Other than baby carrots, it's hard to find a vegetable that's convenient. So I understand, to an extent, why people don't eat enough of them. You have to have the proper cooking ware, the proper utinsils, and the proper environment to eat vegetables. This is not often the case.

If you're busy, or traveling, or you don't have time to sit down, then consider a green food. These products are usually derived from chlorella (pronounced kli RELL a, not like cholera, the intestinal disease), and immature grasses such as barley, wheat, and alfafa. I talked about gluten intolerence in a prevoius post. Wheatgrass does not contain any gluten, so you can consume it without any reaction.

How do you consume green foods? The easiest way is to mix it with water or juice. You don't need a lot. You can add one teaspoon to any concoction of berries, fruit, milk, or yogurt. I prefer not to use dairy products, so I would use a plant-based milk or soy yogurt. Blueberries and bananas make the best smoothies in my experience.

What are the benefits of green foods? Green foods have chlorophyll and phycocyanin. Chlorophyll inceases circulatoin, bolsters immunity and eliinates waste products. They promote production of killer cells in your immune system. Green foods contained a lot of vitamin A, gamma-linolenic acid, GLA, vitamin C, E, and antioxidants. Green food can also lower the acidity of your body.

One reason I don't eat a lot of animal food is because it increases the acidity of my body. This can leach calcium from bones. So this contradicts the common belief that milk and yogurt are good sources of calcium. In fact, too much dairy can reduce calcium in your bones. Is it any wonder that countries with the largest dairy intake have the highest rate of osteoperosis?
On the other hand, the vitamin K in green foods delivers circulating calcium to the bones. Green foods also contain magnesium and calcium. Green foods are alkaline so they reduce the acidity of the body.

I recommend the following green foods:

-Berlean's Greens
-Garden of Life
-Greens +
-Nature's Plus
-Paradise Herbs
-Superfood
-Alive! Energizer

You can find these at natural food stores or at Whole Foods. So if you don't want to prepare vegetables, or if you hate vegetables, or if vegetables aren't convenient, then I highly recommend a green food. Greens are an easy way to help you reach your goal of achieving 10 servings of fruits/vegetables per day. Green foods often come from organic sources. If you want to reduce you environmental footprint, then green food would make you more environmentally benign. Otherwise, the best thing to do is to consume vegetables in their natural state.

Kevin