Go for the greens

Between 1984 and 2010 there were four movies titled “Green”! They ranged in subject matter from a bad LSD trip and living rural (1984), to making money running a marijuana business (2010). All are rated one star. Somehow they missed the news that the real power of green is to fuel your brain. A new study in Neurology of 960 older folks – average age 81 – found that the top 20 per cent of leafy green eaters (they ate an average of 1.3 servings daily) delayed their cognitive aging by 11 years compared with the 20 per cent of folks who had never seen a salad they liked (they ate less than a tenth of a serving of leafy greens daily).

The nutrients in green leafy veggies – such as spinach, collard greens, kale, bok choy, turnip greens, dark-green leafy lettuce, watercress, arugula and mesclun – that are the brain boosters include vitamin K, lutein, beta carotene, nitrate, folate, the flavonol kaempferol, and a form of vitamin E called alpha-Tocopherol. So what should you do to get the full recommended amount of seven to nine daily servings of veggies and fruits?

– Eat at least three to four servings of dark-green leafy vegetables; get the rest of your veggies from a variety of colors to maximize your nutrient intake. Opt for at least two servings of fruit (a whole small apple, 1 cup chopped melon) daily.

– Raw green leafy veggies: 1 cup is 1 serving. Cooked green leafy veggies: 1/2 cup is a serving because they cook down.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www.sharecare.com.