Power of Leafy Greens

Green leafy vegetables don't get enough attention from the health community, and most people don't even think about them. If anything, the focus is on vegetables and rarely on leafy greens. No matter what diet you're on—vegan, paleo, vegetarian, keto, or just a standard diet—if you're not getting enough green leafy vegetables, your future health is at risk. This may seem like an extreme statement to you, but it is true. If you don't consume enough raw green leafy vegetables on a regular basis, you will eventually face some health challenges. Raw green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, chard, valerian, watercress, lettuce, purslane and kale are extremely important to our well-being.

A source of increased biotics and an enemy of bad bacteria

Still undiscovered by science and research, elevated biotics are a type of micro-organism found in raw green leafy vegetables. These microorganisms are responsible for producing the final methylated form of vitamin B12 , which is absorbed in the channels of your body and finds its way back to the liver when it is needed. When there is enough of it, the liver stores large amounts, which it sends into the bloodstream as a helper for almost every vitamin, mineral, and other nutrient it releases to help your body in some way. These increased biotics of unwashed (or very lightly washed), organic, raw green leafy vegetables also help repopulate your intestinal tract with good bacteria.

In addition, raw green leafy vegetables walk the walls of the intestines, gently massaging the duodenum, small intestine and colon, clearing them of bad bacteria and stagnant fats and proteins that have not been digested for years. This buildup is part of the cause of bloating or gastritis, and simply taking a probiotic won't fix it. Probiotics do not kill bad bacteria. They do not kill streptococci or Escherichia coli. High-quality probiotics definitely have a place in health care, but they don't do even a fraction of the healing work that enhanced biotics do. The micronutrients found in green leafy vegetables are prebiotics that feed the good bacteria and kill the bad bacteria.

If your stomach feels uncomfortable when you eat raw green leafy vegetables, it means that you have colonies of bad bacteria that have built up in your gut, increasing levels of inflammation and hypersensitivity of the nerves of the intestinal lining. This translates into intestinal discomfort every time you eat something that isn't soft, smooth, and fiber-free, like a piece of white bread, an egg, or plain chicken. These foods sit in the stomach and become sticky, making you feel like you're digesting them well, when you're actually not digesting them well, because these particular foods are not digested well in general. They are sticky and stick in the intestines.

Because of this sensitivity , when you eat something that is not completely soft and smooth and contains fiber, such as lettuce or cabbage, and you experience any discomfort or symptoms, leafy greens turn out to be the problem food. In fact, it's only because you have sensitive nerves that you can feel these foods moving through your intestines. Raw green leafy vegetables and other healing foods actually help clear out the build-up of bad bacteria and spoiled fats and proteins that are causing your sensitivity in the first place. Eating foods like butter, eggs and cheese, even though they are soft and smooth, only breeds the bad bacteria that cause these problems. You can find out more about the reasons why these foods are best avoided if you have any chronic symptom or disease by reading the article “Problem Foods” .

Another element is that when you are stressed, the adrenal glands go into overdrive and flood your body with adrenaline. This adrenaline enters the gastrointestinal tract and destroys the good bacteria and microorganisms in the gut, creating a suitable environment for the bad bacteria.

Mineral salts, electrolytes and vitamins

Green leafy vegetables contain valuable and vital mineral salts that are crucial for our health. In order for our body to function optimally, we must have enough mineral salts in our food. Green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, provide bioavailable forms of potassium, sodium and chloride, which are extremely important when it comes to keeping our systems strong so we can fight off the "Fearless Four" and other invaders. Green leafy vegetables are also rich in micronutrients, which contain particularly accessible forms of minerals that the body craves (and that science has yet to discover).

Mineral salts allow information to move throughout the body so that it can be kept in balance no matter what is going on. They play an important role in the electricity created by the heart and brain that runs all the other organs in the body. Mineral salts support the work of the heart and create the neurotransmitters necessary to carry the information from point A to point B in the brain - ie. from neuron to neuron. Mineral salts support the functioning of the kidneys and adrenal glands and create hydrochloric acid in the intestines so that your body can break down and digest what you eat.

Mineral salts also regulate the temperature of the whole body. They keep us from overheating and keep us from getting cold. Without mineral salts, we would be constantly prone to dehydration, severe edema and unproductive diuretic states. They are that integral part of keeping you alive and healthy so that you are in the best position to handle whatever comes your way.

The sodium cluster salts in celery stalk juice , which are a subset of sodium, are a special and powerful example of how healing mineral salts are. Half a pint of celery stalk juice in the morning on an empty stomach specifically targets the bad bacteria, destroying them so that the dead bad bacteria can become a food source for the good bacteria to feed on. Although celery is an herb, it deserves a mention here because it is such a powerful healing food. Raw green leafy vegetables contain their own types of mineral salts, and different green leafy vegetables may contain different minerals. For example, spinach contains trace amounts of bioavailable iodine, chromium, sulfur, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and manganese, which are critical for maintaining neurons. Even if you drink celery stalk juice , you still need green leafy vegetables.

Green leafy vegetables are a critical form of electrolytes. Vitamin A, B, folic acid, medicinal alkaloids, disease-fighting compounds and endocrine-repairing micronutrients can all be found in green leafy vegetables. These powerful foods provide a unique group of nutrients that nourish all organ systems. Without green leafy vegetables, the rest of your diet simply won't be enough to keep you healthy, especially considering the types of viruses and bacteria we're dealing with today that cause symptoms like headaches, tingling and numbness, body aches, fatigue, brain fog and more.

Bioavailable proteins

If you're worried about not getting enough protein, worry no more. Green leafy vegetables have the most easily digestible protein you can find available for your body. Green leafy vegetables help reverse all protein-related diseases such as gout, kidney disease, kidney stones, gallstones, gall bladder disease, osteopenia, osteoporosis and heart disease. Failure to break down proteins can contribute to these diseases and lead to deterioration of the body's condition.

Green leafy vegetable juices

A fantastic way to get the benefits of green leafy vegetables is to juice them. Try juicing celery stalks and/or cucumber with green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, or romaine lettuce, and if you like, add some apple, lemon, and ginger. If you're wondering why you need to juice green leafy vegetables when your ancestors simply picked them from the garden and consumed them, the answer is simple - we live in a different world now. The toxins, pollutants, viruses and bacteria we face now are much worse than they have ever been. Millions of bad bacteria accumulate in our digestive tract. Streptococci , Escherichia coli, Clostridium difficile, Staphylococci, and even bad yeast—they live in our intestinal tracts, thriving and taking up space, making it difficult for us to absorb the nutrients we need. We also have a sluggish and stagnant liver , which is overloaded with toxins and pathogens, meaning it is not functioning optimally. We are also loaded with toxic heavy metals and viruses .

Juicing increases the strength and quantity of the important nutrients we get from raw green leafy vegetables and helps make up for their deficiency. It also takes some of the work out of your digestive system. Freshly juiced from raw green leafy vegetables is essentially pre-degraded, making it a liquid infusion for the cells that is easily digested.

If you fear raw vegetables and salads because you find them irritating to your gut, it probably means you have an oversensitive intestinal tract . Juicing is a great remedy for anyone with a sensitive digestive system. Plus, with juicing, you can get larger amounts of raw green leafy vegetables into your diet than if you ate them whole or even pureed them ( pureeing is another healing way to incorporate raw green leafy vegetables, such as in the Spinach Soup recipe in our blog ).

All of the above doesn't mean you shouldn't eat green leafy vegetables, but juicing can be a vital key to restoring your health and healing various deficiencies.

Cooking and green leafy vegetables

Often people like to cook green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, bok choy, chard and kale. These leafy greens are incredibly healing raw and are best avoided when cooked. When green leafy vegetables are steamed, sautéed, fried, baked or otherwise cooked, it changes the naturally occurring oxalic acid (which is not harmful at all when the green leafy vegetable is raw) into a form that is less usable by organism. This is one of the reasons why leafy greens are best eaten raw.

Raw green leafy vegetables

Lettuce, arugula, valerian, watercress, Swiss chard, red and green lettuce, romaine lettuce, spinach and kale are alkalizing green leafy vegetables that make great salads. They can also be added to smoothies. Very often, spinach is a light addition to smoothies, sauces, dressings and raw soups.

Most people have never eaten enough raw green leafy vegetables, so they are already deficient in the minerals and nutrients that these special foods can provide. Now that you know how important green leafy vegetables are, you can start including plenty of them in your diet every day. At a minimum, every adult should consume at least two and a half cups of chopped raw green leafy vegetables per day. For a person with a chronic illness or symptoms, it takes much more per day to regain health. A kilogram of green leafy vegetables a day could be very beneficial for a person in this situation. If you can't handle it every day, take small steps. Can you have a big green salad or "spinach soup" twice a week? Can you add 2 cups of spinach to your favorite fruit smoothie? Can you drink green juice several times a week? Start here and increase your consumption of leafy greens day by day.

It's also important to include some green supplement powders for their specific healing properties and nutrient concentration, including spirulina and barley grass juice powder . These two green powders are very special, and when both are taken daily, they act as multivitamins and multiminerals that are beneficial for healing and a powerful step to help prevent future deficiencies and symptoms. The Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie is an ideal way to introduce these powders into your diet daily and also includes the herb cilantro and the sea leaf vegetable - Atlantic Dulce . Although these foods are not leafy greens, they are also vital.

Green leafy vegetables help with depression, infertility , anxiety, adrenal fatigue , insomnia , skin conditions , hormonal imbalance, heart palpitations, brain fog , dizziness - the list goes on. Green leafy vegetables also help restore hydrochloric acid in the body, strengthen digestion, limit pancreatic problems and help prevent diabetes in the future. If your current diet or health professional doesn't tell you to eat green leafy vegetables, that diet isn't complete. It is important to become your own health expert and equip yourself with the information you need to heal and take care of your health in the future. Green leafy vegetables are a great way to do this.