I ate an entire head of broccoli for breakfast this morning.

If you told me I would do such a thing even a year ago, I would have laughed at you. Like, really loudly. In fact, I probably would have written you off as a friend. In know, harsh.

You see, broccoli and I have a history, and it’s not a pretty one.

Every night, my mother would dutifully microwave it in butter, garlic, and lemon juice, and try to make me eat it.

Ha! Nice try, mama. Nice try.

When outright refusing to eat it wouldn’t work (our household followed the no broccoli, no dessert rule, which led to a not-so-happy Lauren), I would begrudgingly put it in my mouth. I would chew. And chew. And chew.

And chew some more.

When it came time to try to swallow it, my gag reflex took full effect. There was no swallowing this broccoli.

So I would excuse myself from the table, lumping the broccoli into the side of my cheek as I tried to speak like a normal person (you know, like someone who didn’t have broccoli hidden in the side of their cheek). To the bathroom I would go, where I proceeded to take all the contents of the garbage out of the garbage pail, spit the broccoli at the bottom of it, and put the contents back over top to hide the evidence.

But I didn’t stop there. I would flush the toilet for good measure, further keeping up the illusion that I really was using the bathroom. Then I would run the water and wet the soap to make it look like I had washed my hands (later on in my vegetable scheming years, my mother got wise to my faux hand washing and started smelling my hands for the scent of soap upon my return to the table to make sure I had actually washed them. Why I didn’t just wash my hands in the first place after having stuck them into the garbage, we’ll never know. I was a strange child. I watched a lot of MacGyver. And L.A. Law. I knew how to hide evidence…and open a door with a paper clip. Ok, that last part is a lie. I need a key. Every time).

I am the original Captain Crunch, Tony the tiger, Toucan Sam. I was the kid those food companies were marketing to, and boy oh boy, did they get me. I was in. Deep. Twinkies. Sour grapes. Snickers bars. Hot dogs on a white bun. Extra ketchup. Cheese pizza. Extra cheese. Double side of grease. Hold the veggies, please! Why ruin a good thing?

How I didn’t end up with scurvy what I was younger, I’ll never know. Mom must have slipped an IV of vegetables and nutrients into me while I was sleeping (that totally could have happened. I used to be a deep sleeper. And mama Lobley can be very, very sneaky).

Knowing all of that about me, you would never guess that greens are now a main event in my life, would you?

Well, counselor, sometimes, the evidence doesn’t always add up (and by that reasoning, with any luck, one day I really will be able to open a door with a paper clip. And maybe some chewing gum).

I will spare you the details of how I became a lover of all things broccoli and leafy green. Just know this: sometime in my twenties (yes, it took that long), this health counselor and recovering Fruit Loops addict learned about the importance of green vegetables.

And now, you can too!

Here are 5 things you need to know:

Greens give you more energy than a cup of coffee.

Eating dark, leafy greens (not iceberg lettuce, thank you very much), oxygenates your blood. Specifically, your red blood cells. How? It’s all about the chlorophyll. You may remember this from high school ecology class, but just in case: chlorophyll is the green pigment that gives green vegetables their color. Its job is to absorb light from the sun in order to provide energy for photosynthesis. Ecology class reminder #2: photosynthesis is the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to generate oxygen, and therefore, energy.

So, it would stand to reason that if you’re eating a ton of chlorophyll, you are getting a lot more oxygen, and a lot more energy. Actually – and even cooler still – it’s like you’re eating the sun! Chlorophyll literally oxygenates your red blood cells, which then carry oxygen through your entire body. This purifies your blood, leaving you more energized.

As for that acidic coffee or caffeinated tea you’ve been drinking? Sorry to tell you this, but it’s actually depleting your energy. How? Because the caffeine stimulates your adrenaline production, causing it to soar into action. But once the adrenaline rush is over, it comes crashing down, leaving you feeling more tired than you were before. Constantly using caffeine for energy is actually putting stress on your adrenal glands, and can lead to adrenal fatigue.

To put it simply: caffeine stimulates, giving you short term energy, whereas greens nourish, thus offering a sustained and consistent supply of energy.

Greens are nutrient dense, but low in calories.

Another reason why eating your greens is good for you – and your energy – is because they are nutrient dense. Nutrient density is essentially a measure of a food’s nutrients compared to its caloric value. The goal is to eat foods with as many nutrients per calorie as possible.

You can measure the nutrient density of any food with something called the ANDI score. No need to bother yourself with the equation, but just know that the higher the score, the more nutrient dense the food, and the easier it is for you to digest. For example, kale has a score of 1000 (the scale doesn’t go beyond that). Brussel’s Sprouts? 490. Salmon? 64. Soft drinks? A whopping score of 1.

Green are easier to digest.

You may not know this, but your digestive system is incredibly taxing on your body. It requires a lot of energy. Think about the last time you had a big meal. Maybe you ate too much? Pretty sure you weren’t ready to go run a marathon after that, much less make it from the table to the couch!

That’s because you stressed your digestive system, and it needed to call in the troops from other bodily processes to help deal with the excess – and probably even damaging – food.

How do you make digestion easier? Besides drinking lemon water 20 minutes before eating to stimulate stomach acid, taking digestive enzymes, eating slowly and chewing at least 50 times before swallowing, you can make digestion easier by choosing nutrient dense foods.

Think about it: calories are a measure of energy. The more calories the food has, the more energy it’s going to take for you to digest it. So if you eat something like kale, which has a ton of micro nutrients that will nourish your body, but that doesn’t have a lot of calories, digestion will be a breeze! But if you eat something like a big steak or a slice of cheese pizza (sorry pizza lovers), you’re taking in a high calorie load without a lot (and sometimes, any) micro nutrients to nourish the body. It’s like spending money on a credit card when you don’t have the money to pay it back.

Greens are highly alkaline with powerful cancer fighting properties.

If you haven’t heard of pH before, it is the measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. Your blood should have a pH of around 7.4, which errs closer to the side of alkaline vs. acidic.

Unfortunately, the standard American diet (SAD) is comprised of highly acid forming foods: breads, heavy cheeses, processed foods, refined sugars and flours, and yes, even meat and fish. Now, of course your body will work hard to make sure it always has an alkaline pH, but when it’s inundated with acid-forming foods, it has to pull minerals from your bones to maintain that alkaline state. That is where problems start to happen, and that includes cancer.

When you consume more greens, you help your body out by helping it stay in a more alkaline state. Moreover, greens contain many micro nutrients and antioxidants that keep your cells happy, and minimize the growth of the cancerous ones. These micro nutrients include minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium, and countless other vitamins needed for the proper functioning of your cells, organs and tissues.

Greens – especially raw ones – hydrate you.

Your body is made up of 60% water, so it’s obviously important to stay hydrated. Some of us are great at drinking water throughout the day, whereas others have a tough time keeping up.

Regardless of the category you are in, if you’re eating your greens (and other veggies and fruits, for that matter), you are hydrating your body. Some greens, like cucumbers, are made up of as much as 90% water! Even broccoli, my old friend, is made up of 91% water.

Staying hydrated is important because when you get dyhydrated, it can lead to things like headaches and low energy, not to mention that every cell, tissue and organ in your body needs water to function properly.

 

So, are you ready to eat some greens? Not sure where to start?

Try this recipe for oven roasted broccoli to get your started. You might also consider buying some chlorophyll drops and having them at least once a day (read the directions). If you’re a smoothie drinker, try adding a handful of greens or greens powder into it.

Eating green vegetables alone is not enough for complete health, to be sure. You should combine them with an array of real, whole foods. Foods that come from the earth, not from a factory. But do eat greens as often as you can in any given day as they will definitely serve to help you live your healthiest, most energetic, most nutrient dense life!

Love, love, love,
Your recent broccoli loving convert,
Lauren
xxx