The Benefits of Including Greens in Your Diet

August 16, 2022

Following an exercise regime and eating a nutritious, balanced diet is essential to staying fit, healthy, and energetic. Eating healthy gives you the strength to work out more effectively and push yourself to reach your fitness goal. There’s a massive focus on incorporating more protein into your diet, especially if you want to build muscle. Still, a healthy diet must also include greens as they’re packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber, and antioxidants.

 

Benefits of Greens

Green vegetables have tons of benefits, some of which include:

  • Help to maintain your weight

Green vegetables are high in fiber but low in calories. They’re also packed with nutrients that promote a healthy metabolism. It makes them a fantastic addition to any meal – you can eat as much as you want without worrying about the calorie count.

  • Glowing Skin

The vitamins and minerals in green vegetables help regenerate the skin cells, maintain elasticity, reduce wrinkles and fine lines and rebuild collagen. The antioxidants protect the skin from sunburn and damage, leaving your skin looking plump and youthful. 

  • Protects the heart

Green vegetables contain large amounts of lutein, which reduces inflammation in people with heart disease. They also have mega doses of vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, folic acid, and phytochemicals that can lower the risk of heart disease. 

  • Build strong bones

Good bone health is vital for everyone, particularly if you’re working out and lifting weights. Leafy green vegetables contain magnesium, calcium, and vitamin K, which aid the body in producing osteocalcin, a bone builder. 

 

Clever Ways to Add More Greens to Your Diet

It’s one thing to know the value of greens, but quite another to understand how to incorporate them into your daily diet. When you think of greens or vegetables, most people think of cold salads piled high with lettuce and rocket, which can be refreshing on a summer’s day but can get boring after a while. Apart from salads, there are other ways to sneak greens into almost every meal. Give some of the following a try:

  • Smoothies and shakes
  • Soups and stews
  • Sandwiches and wraps
  • Dips and sauces

The easiest way to get a bunch of greens is to blend them into a smoothie. For a creamy texture, freeze spinach and kale before blending. You can add any fruits and veggies you have and sweeten them with honey. Add protein powder, and you’ve got a balanced meal or snack. The key is to blend your veggies rather than juice them. Blending retains the fiber while juicing removes fiber and leaves you with a lot of sugar. 

 

Sneak greens into salads and stews for a warm, hearty meal. An easy recipe is the chicken and vegetable stew, which is the perfect comfort food on a chilly day. 

Sandwiches and wraps are also great options – add more leafy green than meat to your sandwich or wrap filling to make it more balanced and add extra nutrients. 

If you enjoy dips and sauces, make them yourself and add greens. For example, if you’re making basil pesto, add half the required basil leaves and replace the balance with kale or spinach. You can do the same for any sauce or dip you enjoy. 

 

Green Powders

Getting a good amount of greens in your diet isn’t always easy, especially since you should eat them daily. An easy solution is to supplement your diet with greens powder. A greens powder allows you to get all the benefits of eating your greens without the hassle and time-consuming exercise of preparing and then eating all the vegetables. You can add your greens powder to smoothies, soups, oatmeal – whatever you like. 

Many greens powders are available on the market, so shop around to find one that suits your needs. Barbend top greens powders offer a range of options that you can compare. 

 

While eating greens is a fantastic way to maintain your health, you also need to exercise for your overall health and well-being. Whether you’re seeking some motivation to exercise or need a vacation, you can visit the Tennessee Fitness Spa, an adult fitness camp. This camp offers a break that will inspire you to incorporate healthy eating and an active lifestyle into your everyday routine.  

Image by Eva Elijas

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