Stop Obsessing About Fruit, Fat and Raw Food! Eat More Greens!

n often repeated discussion here in the raw food world, seems to center on disagreements of whether a high fruit diet is best, and then assumptions are often made that a diet not high in fruits needs to be high in fat. These discussions frustrate me, as they really miss the whole key to a healthy diet (raw or otherwise). While fruits, nuts, and seeds all play an important role in a well-rounded, healthy diet, the real stars of the show in optimum health are greens. Whether you’re a fruit-loving raw foodist, a supplement fan, a low-sugar advocate, or anything in between, the core of your diet should be fresh greens of all kinds.

Here are some of the benefits of centering your diet on greens:

1. Mineral salts naturally occurring in greens help neutralize and expel waste in our bodies.

2. Greens are a good source of natural fibre, helping to keep colon healthy
3. Greens provide important nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, potassium, phosphorus, zinc and other minerals not found in fruits, nuts and seeds (unless you eat the white pith or seeds of oranges or figs, blended for digestion)
4. Greens are a rich source of vitamins A, B complex, D and E

5. Greens (especially sunflower greens – which are delicious) are a wonderful source of lecithin, which helps break fatty acids down into a digestible form
6. Greens are full of chlorophyll and carotenoids (components of vitamin A), which benefits the blood, tissues, and inflammation, supports our immune system, our vision, and protects against coronary disease, and tumours
7. Greens are our best sources of folates and folic acid (a B vitamin), which are important for cell growth and reproduction
8. Greens like spinach, parsley, kale, and mustard greens, are extremely high in vitamin C.

Unlike fruits and fats, leafy greens have never been accused of causing acidity in the body.
In fact, greens help the body become more alkaline, which is a goal of many raw foodists who understand that illness can only exist in an acidic environment in the body.

Worried about the cost of buying fresh, organic greens in sufficient quantities?
Remember, farmed greens are simply cultivated wild herbs and greens. For a truly low-cost and nutrient rich diet, consider edible wild greens. A little research into your local edible flora and fauna could provide you with some of the highest quality food in your diet!
Another cost-saving tip, is to grow your own! There are many books and website dedicated to teaching people how to easily grow the highest quality greens, even in small, city kitchens. Sunflower greens are one very easy and delicious green that can be grown this way, without fancy equipment.

So now that you know why you should focus your diet on greens, and you know how to do it in a way that suits any budget or environment, you might have one other issue that has kept you from becoming a full-fledged green practitioner yourself:

Taste!

Many people have the notion that greens don’t taste good. If you fall into this unfortunate category, take heart! Greens are an acquired taste for some people, especially if your taste buds are more familiar with processed grains and fat-filled sauces than fresh produce! Most people find that the more greens they eat, the more they come to fall back in love with the food that nature intended for us.

A great way to ease into a greener diet, is by adding green smoothies to your daily menus. While the appearance of a green smoothie can be intimidating, an attractive jug and a few recipes have proven that even the most cooked food eater can enjoy greens in their diet in this form!

Another great way to get more greens is to eat them in salads with fruit. Salads of luscious and soft baby spinach topped with juicy mandarin orange slices and velvety sunflower sprouts don’t miss fatty dressings at all, and you might be surprised at how enjoyable they are as a main dish.

According to Ann Wigmore, “after you’ve been eating lots of green foods for six months to a year, you will feel that something is missing unless you have them each day. When you recognize this, your body is beginning to take a more active role in food selection, and that is the purpose of any good health program – to help you tune in to your own body’s needs.”
April’s Issue of Health In High Heels will be pulling out all the Green Stops! Watch for April’s Great Green Gazette to learn more!

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