Health Benefits of Collard Greens

Collards are probably originated in the eastern European or Asia Minor region and now days grown almost all parts of the cooler temperate regions. The plant grows up to 3-4 feet in height and bears dark-green leaves arranged in a rosette fashion around an upright, stocky main stem.

Collard greens are highly nutritious staple green “cabbage-like leaves” vegetable. Collards are one of the most popular members of the Brassica family, closely related to kale and cabbage and could be described as a non-heading (acephalous) cabbage.

Most often thought of as a Southern dish, collard greens and their cousins -- beet greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens, and turnip greens -- are gaining new respect as nutrition powerhouses -- they're loaded with disease-fighting beta-carotene and offer respectable amounts of vitamin C, calcium, and fiber. All these attributes make cooking greens a wise choice for your diet.

As fat-fighters, collard greens play the part of most vegetables, providing few calories but filling stomachs with some fiber and furnishing nutrients galore. Just lose the traditional way of cooking them in bacon grease to keep your weight-loss routine and turn them into true fat-fighting foods.

Some greens -- collard, mustard, and turnip -- belong to the cruciferous family, which also includes broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. Research has shown that people who eat a lot of cruciferous vegetables are less likely to suffer from cancer than those whose diets contain fewer servings due to a variety of organosulfur compounds.

Dark, leafy greens are also a good source of the antioxidant vitamin C. Many of the greens contain appreciable amounts of magnesium (good for bone and heart health) and the B-vitamin team of folate and B6 (also good for heart health).

§         Fresh collard leaves are also rich in vitamin-C, provides about 59% of RDA per 100 g. Vitamin-C is a powerful natural anti-oxidant that offers protection against free radical injury and flu-like viral infections.

§         Collard greens are an excellent source of vitamin-A (222% of RDA per 100 g) and carotenoid anti-oxidants such as lutein, carotenes, zea-xanthin, crypto-xanthin, etc. These compounds are scientifically found to have antioxidant properties. Vitamin A also required maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin and is also essential for healthy vision. Consumption of natural fruits rich in flavonoids helps to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.

§         This leafy vegetable contains amazingly high levels of vitamin-K, provides staggering 426% of recommended daily levels per 100 leaves. Vitamin K has a potential role in the increase of bone mass by promoting osteotrophic activity in the bone. It also has the beneficial effect in Alzheimer's diseasepatients by limiting neuronal damage in their brain.

§         Collards are rich in many vital B-complex groups of minerals such as niacin (vitamin B-3), pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5), pyridoxine (vitamin B-6) and riboflavin.

§         Wonderfully nutritious collard leaves are very low in calories (provide only 30 calories per 100 g) and contain no cholesterol. However, its green leaves contain a very good amount of soluble and insoluble dietary fiber that helps control LDL cholesterol levels and offer protection against hemorrhoids, constipation as well as colon cancer diseases.

§         Widely considered to be wholesome foods, collards are rich in invaluable sources of phyto-nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties, such as di-indolyl-methane (DIM) and sulforaphane that have proven benefits against prostate, breast, cervical, colon, ovarian cancers by virtue of their cancer-cell growth inhibition and cytotoxic effects on cancer cells.

§         Di-indolyl-methane has also found to be effective immune modulator, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties by potentiating Interferon-gamma receptors.

Although fresh collard greens are available year around in the stores, they are at their best from November through April.  The plant is generally ready to harvest at 6-8 weeks after planting. Generally the whole plant is cut about 4 inches from the ground and sent to market in bunches. Usually, the cut ends sprouts again and bears new stems from the sides which can then be harvested again after few weeks.

In the stores, look for fresh, bright, crispy leaves with stout stalk. Avoid those with yellow discolored, sunken leaves. Whenever possible, choose these greens from the nearby organic farm in order to get maximum health benefits.