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Power Greens

All green salads are not created equal. “Lettuce” discuss one of the main factors why. (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself 🤣.) The foundational ingredient when building your green salad is the leafy greens, which vary widely in nutrient value.

Alameda Post - two salads with leafy greens
Photos Denise Lum / Instagram.

I can hear the outcry already. Yes, I acknowledge that they also vary in taste and texture, so not only will we discuss nutrition, but also some ideas that appeal to texture and tastes.

Did your parents really force you to eat your vegetables because they are good for you? Or were they imparting a passive form of torture upon you? It might give you comfort to know, although they might have been pushing the produce because they had to endure the same as children, the health benefits are real. Research shows that leafy greens are a strong source of dietary nitrates, which support cardiovascular health.



A 23-year Danish study published in the European Journal of Epidemiology of over 56,000 participants who had no cancer diagnosis at the onset, found that participants who regularly consumed nitrate-rich vegetables had up to 26 percent lower risk of heart disease. “Our results suggest that ensuring the consumption of nitrate-rich vegetables, corresponding to ~ 1 cup of green leafy vegetables, may lower the risk of CVD.”

Alameda Post - lettuce and other greens in a grocery store

Choosing your greens

Build your salad strong and it could help you have a lower baseline blood pressure. How do various leafy greens rank? A general rule is that the deeper green your veggie is, the more nutrients it contains.

Able to be consumed raw or cooked, kale is trendy. Remove the tough ribbing and cut into small pieces for your salad, or larger pieces can be sauteed in olive oil with onion and garlic—or even baked into chips for snacking. Rich in vitamin A, kale is good for your vision and a strong immune system. Vitamin A is also key for heart, lung, and kidney function. It is also high in vitamin C, which like vitamin A, bolsters your immune system. Vitamin C is also important for growth and repair of your body tissues. Eating kale can support bone strength, as it has calcium and more than four times the daily requirement of vitamin K, which is essential in forming the proteins for normal blood clotting.

Popeye was a fan of vitamins, iron, and folate—spinach is chock full of them. Like kale, spinach is rich in vitamins A, C, and K. Though iron is generally what people associate spinach with, it is non-heme iron, which the body does not absorb well. To get the most iron and folate benefits, cooked spinach packs the most punch. That is because the leaves cook down so much that you are eating more of it. Just be sure that you cook it gently, just enough to wilt it. Otherwise, the extended cooking will degrade the nutrients. You want to maintain the integrity of the folate, which produces healthy blood cells and converts the foods you eat into energy. In its raw form, spinach is not just great for salads—its flavor is more subtle than when cooked—so try adding it to your sandwich.

Swiss chard is a leafy green that is often overlooked as a salad ingredient, yet often it is one of the leaves found in your salad mixes. It is high in vitamin K and contains vitamins A and C as well. If you are not ready to let it be the solo leafy green in your salad, consider making it a part of your mix.

Alameda Post - salads
Photos Denise Lum / Instagram.

Watercress is often used just as a garnish in the United States, but it is a popular leafy green in Europe due to its peppery flavor. If you like arugula, try swapping it out for watercress which has more nutrient value. It is a good source of vitamins K and C and even though it’s not nutrient-packed, it is healthier than Romaine and other leaf lettuces.

If the crunch is what you crave most in a salad, Romaine might fit the bill. It contains folate and vitamins A and K, but you must consume at least twice as much other leafy greens to come close to the nutrient content. However, if you need the crispy snap, romaine is a good option. Try pairing it with your darker greens to make your salad into an even healthier meal.

As well, you can try additional options for turning your salad’s health value up:

  • Add a healthy protein.
  • Add other veggies and fruit; the more colorful, the better!
  • Use a low-calorie dressing and you’ll find that you need less of it if you toss it into your salad to distribute it throughout.

For even more salad ideas, see some of the others I’ve created on my Instagram. To your health!

Contributing writer Denise Lum is a Health and Fitness Coach raising her family in Alameda. Contact her via [email protected] or FitnessByDsign.com. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Denise-Lum.

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