Eating plenty of vegetables can help reduce your risk for many chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain cancers. For example, one 2010 study found that eating just one extra serving of leafy greens a day reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by 14 percent.¹

Fresh vegetables are a nutritional cornerstone, as most are very low in calories and net carbs while being high in beneficial fiber,² vitamins and minerals. Vegetables also contain a wide variety of antioxidants and other disease-fighting compounds.

Phytochemicals found in plants have potent anti-inflammatory capacity and some even help in the elimination of carcinogens. Other plant chemicals regulate the rate at which your cells reproduce, remove old cells and maintain DNA.

Leafy greens, thanks to their high fiber content, also activate a gene called T-bet, which is essential for producing vital immune cells in the lining of your digestive tract.³

These immune cells, called innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), help maintain balance between immunity and inflammation in your body and produce interleukin-22 (IL-22), a hormone that helps protect your body from pathogenic bacteria.

ILCs even help resolve cancerous lesions and prevent the development of bowel cancers and other inflammatory diseases.

For Better Health, Eat More Veggies

Studies have repeatedly shown that people with higher vegetable intake have:

• Lower risks of high blood pressure and stroke
• Lower risks of certain types of cancer
• Reduced risk of kidney stones and bone loss
• Higher scores on cognitive tests
• Higher antioxidant levels
• Lower biomarkers for oxidative stress
• Lower risk for Alzheimer's disease⁴
• Lower risk for eye diseases
• Fewer digestive problems

That said, some veggies are more beneficial than others. Kale, for example, has gained vegetable VIP status, in large part thanks to its 3-to-1 carbohydrate-to-protein ratio. This is an exceptionally high amount of protein for any vegetable, resulting in kale being viewed as "vegetarian beef."

Like meat, kale contains all nine essential amino acids needed to form the proteins within the human body, plus nine other non-essential ones for a total of 18.

Unlike meat it does not have these amino acids in a high concentration. This makes it far more difficult to consume excess protein, which we know can activate mTOR and accelerate aging and chronic degenerative diseases. It also contains more omega-3 than omega-6, which is almost unheard of in nature.

Mustard — The New 'King of Greens'?

More recently, mustard greens (of which there are several popular varieties^5,6) have been gaining in favor. Mustard is a relative of cabbage, broccoli and radishes.

Like kale and collard greens, steamed mustard greens have potent cholesterol-lowering ability, courtesy of its ability to bind bile acids. Bile acids are composed of cholesterol, so this binding activity helps reduce your cholesterol level by boosting excretion.