Dear Living Well Daily Reader,
If you have high cholesterol, then you already know you should be eating more leafy greens.
And with good reason. These tasty veggies are chock-full of heart healthy vitamins, minerals and fiber.
But let’s face it — they can be tough, bitter and easily dismissed from your dinner plate.
Fortunately, you can get all of the heart benefits of leafy greens in a tender, tasty and convenient new way.
And believe it or not, you can grow it year-round — no matter where you live.
This leafy-green miracle is microgreens. These are the tiny, tender, immature versions of lettuces, cabbages and herbs that require only a week or two of growth before they’re ready to hit your plate.
Microgreens have been hot on the foodie scene for a bit, but according to a new study, they also have a place in a heart-healthy diet.
For this study, researchers divided 60 obese mice into groups by different diets — some on a low-fat diet or high-fat diet and with or without additional mature red cabbage or red cabbage microgreens.
At the end of the study, the scientists found that both the microgreens and mature cabbage lowered levels of liver cholesterol and reduced weight gain.
However, the research found that the microgreens contained more cholesterol-lowering compound than the mature cabbage and lowered dangerous LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the mice. This finding is significant since elevated LDL cholesterol levels can lead to heart issues like heart attack and stroke.
To grow your own microgreens, all you need is an old plastic prepackaged-salad container, soil, seeds, water and a sunny spot in your home.
Simply add 2–3 inches of potting soil to the bottom of the container, gently plant organic green mix seeds, water and set in a sunny windowsill. You’ll have fresh, cholesterol-fighting microgreens in three– seven days.
Live well,
Natalie Moore
Managing editor, Living Well Daily
Ed. Note: Please send your feedback: nmoore@lfb.org – and click here to like us on Facebook.
Sources
[1] Red cabbage microgreens lower ‘bad’ cholesterol in animal study
