NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS OF GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page – – – – – – – – i
Certification – – – – – – – – ii
Dedication – – – – – – – – – iii
Acknowledgments – – – – – – – – iv
Table of Contents – – – – – – – v-vi
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION – – – – – – – 1-4
CHAPTER TWO:
2.1 Description of Green Leafy Vegetables – – – 5-6
2.2 Classification of Green Vegetables – – – – 6
2.2.1 Leaf Vegetables – – – – – – – 6
2.2.2 Stalk Vegetables – – – – – – – 7
2.2.3 Fruit and Flowers Vegetables – – – – – 7-8
2.3 Vegetables and Their Uses – – – – – 8
2.4 Plant as Sources of Food and Drug – – – – 9-11
2.5 The Phytochemical Constituents of Vegetables – – 11-13
2.6 Effects of Preparing and Cooking Methods on
Green Leafy Vegetables – – – – – – 13-19
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 NUTRITIONAL BENEFIT OF GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES
3.1 Nutritional Composition of Green Leafy Vegetables – 19-22
3.2 Health Benefits of Green Leafy Vegetables – – 22-23
3.2.1 Sources of Folate – – – – – – 24
3.2.2 Burns Fat – – – – – – – 24-25
3.2.3 Anti-Aging – – – – – – – 25
3.2.4 Maintenance of Good Hearth Health – – – 26
3.2.5 Fight Diabetes – – – – – – 26
3.2.6 Protect Against Toxins – – – – – 27
3.2.7 Build Enzymes – – – – – – 27-28
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
4.1 Summary – – – – – – – 29-31
4.2 Conclusion – – – – – – 31
References
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Vegetables are annual or perennial horticultural crops, with certain sections (roots, stalks, flowers, fruits, leaves, etc.) that can be consumed wholly or partially, cooked or raw (Welbaum, 2015). Vegetables are important for human nutrition in terms of bioactive nutrient molecules such as dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals, and non-nutritive phytochemicals (phenolic compounds, flavonoids, bioactive peptides, etc.). These nutrient and non-nutrient molecules reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, certain cancers, and obesity (Pennington and Remizeh, 2010).
In recent years, consumers have began to change their eating patterns with the growing interest in the effect of foods in staying healthy and maintaining health. “Western” type diets are characterized by increased intake of calories, sugar, saturated fats and animal protein, and reduced consumption of vegetables and fruits. When this type of diet is combined with lack of activity, the prevalence and frequency of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular pathologies also increases. In healthy diets (Mediterranean diet model), eating plant-based foods such as fruits and vegetables, cereals, legumes and nuts, replacing butter with healthy oils such as olive oil and canola oil, using herbs and spices to add flavor instead of salt, limiting red meat to several times a month and eating fish and poultry at least twice a week are recommended. Evidence from epidemiological studies and clinical trials shows that the Mediterranean diet is associated with many positive health outcomes such as reduced risk of various chronic illnesses, reduced overall mortality, and increased likelihood of healthy aging (Tuttolomondo et al., 2015).One of the most important features of these diets is the high consumption of vegetables, and therefore fiber, vitamins, minerals, flavonoids, phytoestrogens, sulfur compounds, phenolic compounds such as monoterpenes and bioactive peptides, which have positive effects on health. In this chapter, basic information will be presented on the classification of vegetables, their relation to health, and the effects of preparation and cooking on nutrient content of vegetables.
Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, salad greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Although they come from a very wide variety of plants, most share a great deal with other leaf vegetables in nutrition and cooking methods.
Nearly one thousand species of plants with edible leaves are known. Leaf vegetables most often come from short-lived herbaceous plants, such as lettuce and spinach. Woody plants of various species also provide edible leaves.
The leaves of many fodder crops are also edible for humans, but are usually only eaten under famine conditions. Examples include alfalfa, clover, most grasses, including wheat and barley. These plants are often much more prolific than traditional leaf vegetables, but exploitation of their rich nutrition is difficult, due to their high fiber content. This can be overcome by further processing such as drying and grinding into powder or pulping and pressing for juice.
Leaf vegetables contain many typical plant nutrients, but since they are photosynthetic tissues, their vitamin K levels are particularly notable. Phylloquinone, the most common form of the vitamin, is directly involved in photosynthesis.
Leaf vegetables are typically low in calories and fat, and high in protein per calorie, dietary fiber, vitamin C, provitamin A carotenoids, folate, manganese and vitamin K (Adjnnahoun et al., 2013)
The vitamin K content of leaf vegetables is particularly high, since these are photosynthetic tissues and phylloquinone is involved in photosynthesis (Aijebsin et al., 2008). Accordingly, users of vitamin K antagonist medications, such as warfarin, must take special care to limit consumption of leaf vegetables (Aletor and Adeogun, 2015).
