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Which leafy greens are healthiest—and which might make you sick?

When I eat a big bowl of greens, I just feel healthy—knowing that their vitamins, fiber, and other nutrients have been dispatched to perform cellular maintenance. But is there actually something more sinister nestled among all that microscopic goodness? Leafy greens, infamously, are regularly recalled for contamination. They're the vegetables most likely to get you sick according to a 20-year study of California’s contaminated produce. One of the most famous outbreaks occurred in 2006 when spinach contaminated with the bacteria E. Coli hospitalized 200 people and caused 18 deaths... These cases make me pause when I reach for my weekly bag of kale, and I’m not alone. One Consumer Reports survey…

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Articles of Interest

A Salad a Day May Be Good for Brain Health

Those who ate the most leafy vegetables — one to two servings a day — scored the equivalent of 11 years younger on tests of mental ability than those who ate little or none. Greens contain lutein, folate, beta carotene and other nutrients known to affect aging.

Eat Your Way to Better Health: Why Leafy Greens Are Your Magic Weapon

Leafy greens sometimes get stereotyped as the soggy and wilted salad sidekick taking up space in our refrigerator’s crisper drawer. But the fact is they’re so much more! These nutritional powerhouses are loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants that fuel our bodies and minds in countless ways.

Eating leafy greens could be better for oral health than using mouthwash

Leafy greens and root vegetables are bursting with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants – and it’s no secret that a diet consisting of these vegetables is crucial for maintaining a healthy weight, boosting the immune system, and preventing heart disease, cancer and diabetes. The multiple health benefits of leafy greens are partly because spinach, lettuce and beetroots are brimming with nitrate, which can be reduced to nitric oxide by nitrate-reducing bacteria inside the mouth.

Eating Leafy Greens Each Day Tied to Sharper Memory, Slower Decline

To age well, we must eat well. There has been a lot of evidence that heart-healthy diets help protect the brain. The latest good news: A study recently published in Neurology finds that healthy seniors who had daily helpings of leafy green vegetables — such as spinach, kale and collard greens — had a slower rate of cognitive decline, compared to those who tended to eat little or no greens.

Eight super-healthy leafy greens – and why you should eat them

Leafy greens are a great way to improve your health as they possess many vital nutrients, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. As a nutritionist, I would highly recommend getting more of the following salad leaves in your diet.

From Green and Leafy to a Sharper Brain

Now there is another reason to eat your vegetables. A new study suggests that certain vegetables may help older women keep their brains sharper. The researchers found that over time women in their 60's who ate more cruciferous and green leafy vegetables than other women did went on to show less overall decline on tests that measured memory, verbal ability and attention.

Genetically Modified Lettuce May One Day Help Space Travelers Fight Bone Loss

The vegetable could provide fresh leafy greens to astronauts’ diet while providing a new way to transport and consume medications in the cosmos.

I eat salad leaves to feel healthy – but is there really any goodness in them?

In short: yes, most definitely! Most salad leaves contain essential nutrients and micronutrients such as vitamins, minerals, water and fibre. Plus, they are low in calories and high in volume – they can fill your plate up without adding too many calories. Remember, 100g of spinach contains half the calories of 100g of apple.

Is it Time to Scrap Salad?

Nutrition-wise, a top criminal in salad is lettuce—which, attractive though it is (see Elegantly Dressed Salads Were Once Quite Fashionable), is essentially nothing but water. This isn’t necessarily a terrible thing: most vegetables contain hefty percentages of water. Cucumbers and lettuce are 96 percent water; zucchini, radishes, and celery, 95 percent; tomatoes, 94 percent; cauliflower, eggplant, and spinach, 92 percent; broccoli, 91 percent; and even the stodgy and solid potato, 79 percent. The question, though, is whether the non-water leftovers make a vegetable worth our while.

Letting Leafy Greens Into Your Life

It seems you can't flip through a magazine or newspaper without reading that you should include more dark green, leafy vegetables in your diet. Yet aside from spinach, many people have no idea what these vegetables might be, let alone what to do with them.

Rocket, arugula, rucola: how genetics determines the health benefits and whether you like this leafy green

Love it or hate it, rocket is popular all over the world. Also known as arugula, roquette and rucola, it’s known for its pungent and peppery flavours. It might look like an unassuming leafy vegetable, but the reasons for its taste, health benefits and whether we like it all comes down to genetics.

The Truth About Bagged Lettuce

I’m a major salad enthusiast. I’m not just saying that to sound virtuous—I really like the stuff, especially when it’s drizzled with balsamic and a good olive oil and paired with a crusty piece of toast. Since we’ve already established that I’m a lazy cook and that I love Trader Joe’s, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that I usually opt for TJ’s bagged lettuce mixes instead of whole heads. Packaged greens are perfect: all the salad, none of the tedious salad spinner.

There’s a Scientific Explanation for Why Adults Are More Likely to Tolerate Leafy Greens

Just eat your veggies: Salivary proteins adapt to bitter tastes, making them more palatable over time.

When Lettuce Was a Sacred Sex Symbol

For nearly 3,000 years lettuce was associated with the Egyptian god of fertility, Min, for its resemblance to the phallus.

Why you should not eat salads after 4 pm, according to experts

Whenever I wanted a light dinner, I'd opt for salads. And why not? They're quick to make, healthy and low in calories. This was until I discovered that they're not always the easiest to digest, especially in the evening. "Raw foods, like salads, contain a lot of fibre, which is beneficial during the day and supports a healthy microbiome," explains Dr Maximilian Schubert, medical director at the Mayrlife Medical Health Resort. "However, in the evening, this fibre can be harder to digest and may strain the digestive system," he adds. "This can lead to bloating and discomfort, which could negatively affect your sleep quality."

Resources

10 Greens That Are Healthier Than Kale

But kale’s actually not the healthiest green on the block. In fact, in a recent report published by the Centers for Disease Control that ranked 47 “powerhouse fruits and vegetables,” kale only placed 15th (with 49.07 points out of 100 for nutrient density)! Here’s a roundup of the 10 leafy green cousins that researchers say pack a greater nutritional wallop, from Eat This, Not That!. Read em, eat em, and reap the benefits.

10 summer salad myths to help you on your way to fitness

Adding a big bowl of a brightly coloured salad to your diet may seem like the easiest way to reach your summer body goals, but is yours really healthy?

5 Leafy Greens to Help You Stay Healthy this Spring

“I’ll have the house salad,” said all of us to the lunchtime server, at some point in our lives—often, in an effort to try a healthier alternative to the olive burger or club sandwich. And, while a bowl of iceberg lettuce may be a conscious move away from beef, buns and beautiful bacon—there is a plethora of healthier greens and leafy veggies to try in place of that crunchy iceberg lettuce.