Sorry Kermit, But It Is Easy Being Green
The word “green” has several connotations. Besides the color itself, we think of green as producing and living in a sustainable and renewable manner. As far as nutrition is concerned, a green diet should also sustain and renew us.
Much is written about the phyto-foods, including broccoli and green, leafy vegetables necessary for maintaining a healthy body. There are even supplements that have dried and concentrated these green vegetables for those that do not eat enough in the diet. There are also supplements that provide rich, green nutrients not otherwise readily available, such as blue green algae, spirulina and chorella.
To really eat green, we need to renew, as well as sustain. The plants that best address our renewability are often red, orange or purple. These are foods that act as antioxidants, undoing the damage sustained by aging. This cellular oxidative damage can be accelerated by poor living habits, environmental toxins, inadequate diet, accidental injury or heavy breathing. Oxygen is a valuable nutrient, but also causes free radical damage to each cell. We cannot do without oxygen, but we have plants that can help modify its damage.
Thus we need to ingest a wide variety of antioxidants, not just those in foods that are colored green. All plant life contains some antioxidants, but it has been determined that the deeper the color red an editable plant is, the more antioxidant value that plant has to the body. Red grapes are well-known for their high antioxidant value, as are fruits such as goji (wolf) berries, Acai berries and raspberries.
To reverse, or renew, damage that has already occurred, we must include as many of the richest sources of antioxidants that we can find in both supplements and plants. To be truly green, we need foods that are both green and vibrantly orange, purple and red.
Dian Freeman, MA, is certified in clinical nutrition with a private nutritional consultation practice for 40 years in Morristown. For more information, call 973-267-4816 or visit WellnessSimplified.com.
