🥬+☀️=💪 Sunshine vitamin power
Dark leafy greens + sunshine = natural antioxidant (CoQ10) production
As I sat poolside today after downing a smoothie with dark leafy greens blitzed in, I was reminded of the awe that is the human body.
Once sunshine hits our skin after eating green vegetables, the chlorophyll from the plants streaming through our bloodstream has a chemical reaction (magic) and our bodies naturally produce an antioxidant called CoQ10, or co-enzyme Q10. (Reference: How Not to Die by Michael Greger, MD)
This discovery had scientists curious about what else our bodies may naturally create with certain chemical reactions.
Who knew it was so easy (and natural) to make our own antioxidants that could help “neutralize free radicals” or “help with heart-related conditions, because it can produce energy production in cells…and act as an antioxidant.” 🤯
One way to get the good stuff into me is surprisingly with a…
Simple brussel sprout leaves salad
All that’s needed is:
a light coating of good olive oil
some salt
And that’s it! Because this is an absolutely delicious combo when you have fresh brussel sprout leaves.
To get a little extra, you can add:
onion and/or garlic powder
white and/or black pepper
red chili flakes
and so many other seasonings and other vegetables and herbs
The leaves are slightly sweet, crunchy yet soft, and pair well with almost anything you want to eat them with.
More often, I’ll get these immaculate vitamins into me through a cold beverage. (Lately, it’s the only way our little Elle will eat them! Which works well for me since it helps me take my nature-made multivitamins too.)
My go-to (smoothie) power potion ⚡️
Start with water in a blender
Dark leafy greens - anything from frozen spinach or any green vegetable, from the freezer or fridge
Frozen fruit - not only do I want all the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants from bright colored fruit, I also want my smoothies cold (this is key!)
Sweetener - the fruit’s sweetness hides any bitterness from the greens but to truly have a sweet smoothie, I like to add a banana or a splash of maple syrup or honey (this is a how-to-get-a-kid-to-actually-drink-a-smoothie non negotiable)
Extras - any seeds (hemp, ground flax, chia) or nut butter (peanut, almond) which are especially important for growing and developing kids, or cacao powder (for even more antioxidant punch)
Google tells me it was Oprah who said,
“If you take care of your body, it’ll take care of you.”
(Symbiotic relationship!)
🥬+☀️=💪 Weekly assignment
Eat a green vegetable (get that chlorophyll into you)
Get some sunshine (5-15 minutes on your face and/or hands)
Let magic happen ✨
I’ll be grading your homework next time,
J xx
I was just reading up on Vitamin K1 and K2, which work synergistically with Vitamin D for bone and heart health. Dark leafy greens are a very high source of K1 (phylloquinone), so add that to the benefits!