Your parents were giving sound advice when they suggested (read forced) you to eat your vegetables. That subtle “eat your vegetables” or the not-so-subtle pre-plated, vegetable-full dinner plate was all for good reason: vegetables are a great source of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fibre.

If you still struggle to eat enough vegetables, you’re not alone. Although Canada’s Food Guide recommends filling more than half of your plate with vegetables and fruit, only one in five Canadians consumes a dark green vegetable daily.¹

Vegetables are important to include in your diet not just because of the nutrients they contain, but because of the antioxidants they provide. Antioxidants are important molecules that offset the negative health consequences of free radicals.

What’s the problem with free radicals?  

Free radicals are chemical compounds created from chronic stress, alcohol intake, smoking (even second-hand smoke), and pollutants like smog.² These compounds are unstable and react with healthy cells, and are often associated with many age-related chronic conditions that relate to heart health³, eye health⁴, cognitive health^5, and inflammation.⁸

How do antioxidants help?

An antioxidant donates an electron, helping to make free radicals nonreactive and less damaging. These compounds counteract free radicals by preventing oxidative stress and cellular damage.⁹ Current research shows that antioxidants could have anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, and neuroprotective effects.¹⁰

How do you get enough antioxidants?

One way is to eat the rainbow. Following Canada’s Food Guide recommendation of filling up your plate with ample amounts of vegetables would increase your antioxidant load substantially, but this can be difficult. Let’s face it, it can become expensive, takes time to prepare and sometimes it just doesn’t taste great (we’re looking at you, Brussel sprouts!). Another way to make sure you’re getting enough antioxidants is with a high-quality greens supplement. Progressive’s VegeGreens is a great source of antioxidants, but our improved formula takes it many leaps beyond your average greens supplement. Here’s how:

• We’ve added more superfoods, including mushrooms. We’ve kept the greens and added stress-supporting mushrooms like reishi, lion’s mane, and chaga. This addition supports the immune system and helps with stress management.
• We’ve added anti-inflammatory herbs like turmeric extract , which is used in traditional medicine to fight off inflammation and relieve joint pain.
• We’ve added digestive enzymes, to ensure your body has the resources it needs to digest the greens and absorb all the nutrients.
• We’re supporting liver health by adding more milk thistle seed.
• And we haven’t strayed too far from the VegeGreens you fell in love with. It still has key superfoods like spirulina, chlorell, kale, spinach and broccoli and the best part, we’ve added more of them!

Give your body ample amounts of antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and digestive support with the easy and delicious addition of VegeGreens in your day-to-day. We love to add it to our favorite smoothies or jazz up our tall glass of water in the AM. We hope you’ll enjoy this improved classic VegeGreens as much as we do!

References:

1. Health Fact Sheets. Fruit and vegetable consumption, 2017. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-625-x/2019001/article/00004-eng.htm
2. Griendling, K. K., Touyz, R. M., Zweier, J. L., Dikalov, S., Chilian, W., Chen, Y.-R., Harrison, D. … & American Heart Association Council on Basic Cardiovascular Sciences. (2016). Measurement of reactive oxygen species, reactive nitrogen species, and redox-dependent signaling in the cardiovascular system: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation Research, 119(5), e39–e75.
3. Liguori, I., Russo, G., Curcio, F., Bulli, G., Aran, L., Della-Morte, D., Gargiulo, G., … & Abete, P. (2018). Oxidative stress, aging, nd diseases. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 13, 757–772.
4. Forni, C., Facchiano, F., Bartoli, M., Pieretti, S., Facchiano, A., D’Arcangelo, D., Norelli, S., … & Jadeja, R. N. (2019). Beneficial role of phytochemicals on oxidative stress and age-related diseases.
5. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (n.d.). Antioxidants: In depth.https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/antioxidants-in-depth
6. Phaniendra, A., Jestadi, D. B., & Periyasamy, L. (2015). Free radicals: Properties, sources, targets, and their implication in various diseases. Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry: IJCB, 30(1), 11–26.
7. Pham-Huy, L. A., He, H., & Pham-Huy, C. (2008). Free radicals, antioxidants in disease and health. International Journal of Biomedical Science: IJBS, 4(2), 89–96.
8. Salehi, B., Mishra, A. P., Nigam, M., Sener, B., Kilic, M., Sharifi-Rad, M., Fokou, P., Martins, N., & Sharifi-Rad, J. (2018). Resveratrol: A Double-Edged Sword in Health Benefits. Biomedicines, 6(3), 91. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines6030091