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Updated on March 19, 2024
You've probably heard it before: Getting more green vegetables into your diet can benefit your health in a variety of ways. And research suggests they may be particularly beneficial for people with diabetes.
The good news is that leafy green vegetables like kale, collard greens, and chard are tasty and versatile. You can add them to a chopped salad, sautee them in a pan with some oil and garlic, or blend them into a hearty soup.
A review of scientific studies revealed that people who ate roughly a cup of cooked greens a day were 14 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
Good things in greens
Results from six different studies of over 200,000 adults confirm it. The researchers looked at overall fruit and vegetable intake, but nothing seemed to have the benefit on diabetes risk that leafy green vegetables did, whether they were eaten cooked or raw.
It could be because most greens are a great source of magnesium. In other studies, higher intakes of this mineral have been linked to a lower risk of diabetes. (Magnesium is believed to help sustain healthy blood sugar levels.) Greens also contain a variety of disease-fighting antioxidants that help protect the body in many ways. Antioxidants are chemicals that can neutralize free radicals, molecules that can do damage to the body's cells.
Greens and beyond
As a food group, researchers say leafy green vegetables include a wide range of good-for-you foods, including lettuce, kale, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and edible herbs like dill and parsley. And their benefits go well beyond just healthy blood sugar levels. Their fiber can improve your digestion, and their powerful vitamins and minerals can help with vision and cell repair, too.
