Green leafy vegetables vs. green vegetables

We all have been forced to finish the greens on our plate since our childhood. Green vegetables are filled with fibre, vitamins and minerals, which help in keeping us healthy. Eating an adequate amount of greens helps protect us from heart disease, diabetes, cancer and can help us live longer. Your body feels more satiated as it gets the essential nutrients after consuming green vegetables.
While green vegetables are considered extremely nutritious, there seems to be more emphasis on green leafy vegetables. So to find out whether leafy greens are healthier than normal greens, we spoke to Mansi Nigam, Consultant, Dietetics and Nutrition, Meddo Clinic.
Carb content
Green leafy vegetables have less carbs than normal green vegetables, which makes them a healthier option for weight watchers. For example, one cup of bottle gourd has 8.6 grams of carbs, while one cup of spinach only has 4 grams of carbs.
Nutrition

Any green leafy vegetable is richer in nutrients than normal green vegetables. To compare, nutritionist Mansi says, one cup leafy green is equal to two cups of any normal green vegetable. This means one portion of leafy green provides you with the same amount of nutrients as two portions of normal green vegetable would.

Nutritionist Mansi stresses on remembering two things:

Buying fresh vegetables

Mansi says that in our busy schedules, we often don’t find time to go and pick vegetables for ourselves and we mostly end up ordering online. Green leafy vegetables when not fresh, do not provide you with adequate nutrients. Stale vegetables have less nutrients than fresh vegetables, thus, it’s best to go out and pick your own vegetables from the vendor.

Do not overcook the vegetables

Overcooking vegetables depletes the iron, folate, vitamins and phosphorus from the vegetable, especially when you are eating leafy greens. It’s best to have them boiled or raw to reap maximum benefits.

How much green do we need daily?

Adults must consume 2.5 cups of leafy greens and 2.5 cups of normal green vegetables in a day. Thus, a total of 5 cups of green vegetables must be consumed in a day.

Examples of leafy green vegetables include spinach, kale, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, mustard greens, parsley, mint, thyme and spearmint.

Examples of normal green vegetables include ladyfinger, beans, bottle gourd, pumpkin and cauliflower.

Other foods you must consume

Apart from green vegetables, people must eat other healthy things like fruits, mint leaves, green tea, basil leaves and curry leaves. All these provide us with multiple nutrients.

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