Including green leafy vegetables into the daily diet can provide many health benefits. They are low in fat and calories and packed with vitamins and minerals. They also have a high water content and contain fiber, which makes them a filling food. Including filling foods in the diet aids weight loss efforts that reduces the risk of disease. Due to the nutrients found in green leafy vegetables, they can also help in the fight against high blood pressure. There are many green leafy vegetables to choose from and the best bet is to eat a wide variety of them.
Lettuce
While a diet high in all fruits and vegetables helps lower blood pressure, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, green leafy vegetables such as lettuce appear to help the most. Lettuce comes in several varieties, including loose-leaf, romaine, crisphead, butterhead and stem. One serving of a green leafy vegetable is equal to 1 cup and the goal is to get six to 13 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, depending on caloric intake. For example if eating 2,000 calories a day, aim for 4.5 cups of a variety of vegetables each day.
Spinach
Spinach is another common green leafy vegetable, and getting the recommended daily amount of vegetables, helps protect against many chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer. Consuming just one more cup a day of a green leafy vegetable than you normally eat, can reduce the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease by 4 percent, reports the Cleveland Clinic. Reaching the goal of getting six to 13 servings a day of a variety of fruits and vegetables, can lower blood pressure even more.
Broccoli
Broccoli is a nutrient packed food that should also be part of a heart healthy diet. Broccoli contains potassium, magnesium and fiber and when they are combined with eating a low-sodium diet, they can help lower blood pressure readings, states the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. However, eating green leafy vegetables alone is not the only answer. Eating a diet rich in green leafy vegetables needs to be combined with smoking cessation, losing excess weight and getting regular exercise to fully manage blood pressure.
Cabbage
The American Dietetic Association, recommends including green leafy vegetables such as cabbage in the diet, because it contains vitamin E. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that plays a role in blocking free radicals. Antioxidants appear to prevent and repair damage to various cells, improve immune function, lower the risk of infection and lower blood pressure. While the exact mechanisms are not well understood, the more variety of green leafy vegetables in the diet the better, and in general, the darker the color the more nutrients the food contains.
