Aliens at the Market

NASA thinks they may have discovered an alien life form at Mono Lake.  Our imagination would love for it to be an adorable E.T. like creature who crash landed his spaceship there, but it isn’t so.  Actually, it’s a bacteria that seems to thrive with arsenic when all other forms of life do the opposite. (1)  We’ve been looking for aliens outside of our planet, but is life that plays according to different rules right here among us, at the market?

Some of us think of the enormous, thick green leafy vegetables like kale and collard greens as another life form, and definitely not something in a normal human diet.  I used to go faster past that part of the produce section because it just seemed strange and out of place, like a science fiction movie.  And I completely sympathize with anyone who feels like stopping and trying to figure them out is too much because life is complicated enough.

ANTIOXIDANT BETA CAROTENE
Let’s address the “why” first.  The dark green color indicates the presence of a powerful antioxidant called beta carotene.  When our body turns food into energy, one byproduct is nasty, electron deficient molecules called free radicals.  Beta carotene gives them free electrons so that they no longer try to steal electrons from healthy cells.  It’s that stealing that leaves healthy cells mutated and scarred,  from the cell membrane and right into the DNA of the cell. (2)

SATISFIES THE THIEF
Like all anti-oxidants, beta carotene gives a desperate “thief” the money he is looking for so that priceless treasures at his mercy, our healthy cells, are not compromised.  Unchecked free radical damage “may become irreversible and lead to disease including cancer,” declares the National Cancer Institute. (3)  So that is the answer to why we should eat the dark green leafy stuff.

RECIPE IDEAS
How?  Glad you asked.  This week the strangeness of these dynamic vegetables will dissipate when you follow the step by step directions for cooking collard greens and kale in the menu recipes “Fish & Greens” and “Garden Herb Roasted Chicken” (with video!).  And don’t forget to watch our “Cooking Greens” video too in the archives if you are a green newbie.

OTHER BENEFICIAL PROPERTIES
Kale alone, one of my favorite dark leafies, has been shown to have not only anti-oxident, but inflammation and cancer -preventative properties as well. They seem to be out of this world when their nutrient density is compared to most other foods! (4)  I’m personally still learning to put the dark greens into my diet, but I don’t see how I could ever say I am truly interested in living a long, healthy life without exploring this mysterious territory of a dark greens.  Feeling brave?

Sometimes odd, but not an alien,

Molly

Teat Cook and Research Specialist for Orange Tree Lane

Nutrient dense dark green leafy vegetables and their treasure chest of nutrients:

collard greens                             *rich in vitamins A,K,E,C
mustard greens                           *potassium
kale                                       *magnesium
spinach                                   *calcium
swiss chard                               *folate
rainbow chard                             *iron and B vitamins

Molly

“Researchers can now identify over 45 different flavonoids in kale. With kaempferol and quercetin heading the list, kale’s flavonoids combine both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits in way that gives kale a leading dietary role with respect to avoidance of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.”  http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?dbid=38&tname=foodspice
“> http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?dbid=38&tname=foodspice

(1)  http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/02/alien-life-nasa-titan-arsenic-bacteria/
(2)  http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/antioxidants/#reference
(3) http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/prevention/antioxidants
(4)  http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?dbid=38&tname=foodspice

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