Greens, greens! They’re good for your heart. The more you eatem’…..
Okay, okay, moving on. You don’t have to make such a stink about it….
So, what are greens and why should you care? Well, it can mean several different things, but it usually depends on who you ask.
Ask your plaid-laden husband or uncle, and they’ll probably lecture you on their putter of choice.
Ask your grandma and prepare for the inevitable question: “collard or mustard, baby?”
Ask the millennial with the Art History degree working at Starbucks and be ready for a proclamation of their fight to end global warming.
Ask the up to date health geek on the other end of your laptop screen, and you’ll get something different.
Put simply, for the sake of this newsletter, when we refer to greens, we are talking about fruits, veggies, algaes, and various grasses that have been dried, compacted, and distilled into a highly concentrated powder/pill form.
“But T, I already eat enough veggies!” Oh…..? Enough, eh? Well, I could spout off some of the latest research regarding the actual percentage of folks who don’t eat the recommended amount of veggies. But there is just something about your face that tells me that you aren’t part of that 90% of the population. Or I could discuss how some folks feel like “fruits and veggies” are just completely interchangeable. But, I won’t because you guys are too smart for all that jazz. You want the goods. You want to know what other benefits come with ingesting such pure nutritional gold. Well, then let’s dive in.
With most greens products, you are going to get way more than just more vitamins and minerals. Which by the way, has severely decreased since your grandma started eating them. So, be polite and nod as she carries on about her secret Great Depression farming tactics. She means well. But bottom line is that you cannot even come close to getting the same amount of nutrition from eating the same apple that her pre-dentured mouth once allowed her to eat. Besides, it has much less to do with what you eat, and much more to do with what you are able to digest and absorb.
We won’t throw the baby out with the bath water, though. Vegetables (and Fruits) still both play a pivotal role in overall health. The fiber content alone is enough to keep you gorging on them. But from a nutritional perspective, fresh organic vegetables still can’t compete with their super concentrated, low sugar counterparts. That comes in prettyyyy handy for those of you “Paleo-ish” eaters out there. You might want to chew on some veggies amidst your 36 oz sirloin if you want to live to see the Cubs win another pennant. (Yea… the greens help to balance out the car battery of an environment your “half of a steer” is creating within your blood vessels.)
So, what else has science been able to squeeze into this miracle hippie dust? And what do you use them for, exactly? Well….
- Most also come with a fair amount of EPA/DHA from the algae and plant based fats contained within. (That’s Omega 3’s for you newb’s out there)
- They are also laced with digestive enzymes which breakdown the contents of the rest of the meal that you consume them with. Ipso facto: no gas
- Green’s powder comes in pretty handy on travel days that you don’t have access to fresh fruits and veggies.
- They allow you the ability to get 10X the nutrition without 10X the sugar. (Dear bananas, our deepest conDOLEnces…)
- It’s often easier on the ole wallet. Have you SEEN the price of organic, farm fresh veggies? They are golden, indeed.
Will some of you try and just take 2 scoops a day to keep the doctor away? Yes, probably. Will you succeed? Ehhh, yes probably. But, I’ll say it again, the powder is not meant to replace the existing veggies in your diet. They are simply meant to (say it with me; all together now…) suuuuupppplement. Green’s serve as “nutritional insurance”. They fill the gaps that we create with our less than stellar lifestyles. Cliché aside, this is quite possibly one of the few things that really won’t hurt to try. So, make grandma proud.
Click Fleurish Dispensary button below (or here) to purchase our recommended greens powders. See image below for how to navigate to the recommendations once logged in.
"Everyone needs someone to help them do what they ought to do. Your journey awaits....."
-Tyler LaFleur RN, CEP, CFMP
