RE: Foods: Mythology of dark green leaves (WAS: I disagree, I LOVE kale!) [s]

[Guest guest]

What I originally wrote:

Think about it...how many of you would actually sit down and eat a bowl full

of kale or chard WITHOUT first treating it in some way, marinating it in

oil/acid/salt, blending it up, etc? We treat the kale because, in its

natural state, it is indeed difficult for humans to digest.

 

Comments in response:

Sorry but I completely disagree with this ... I hated dark leafy greens when

I first went raw, but now I absolutely adore them, no oils or salt added. I

often eat a full head of dino kale on its own for dinner. You're entitled to

your opinion about dark greens, but keep in mind that some of us here love

them :) I actually find that the tender greens are too bland for me now,

I prefer the darker ones.

 

and:

 

I actually grew kale in my organic garden, and the kale I ate while standing

in the garden was incredibly tender and sweet. Not at all tough like what we

get in the store. Lane

_____

I suppose I could have written that one sentence a bit differently, but I

did not say no one eats plain kale, because I'm well aware that some people

do. Nevertheless, the vast majority of people do not and would not, given a

tastier alternative.

 

Having said this, I want to make sure the focus remains where it belongs. Of

course, almost ANY vegetable tastes and feels best the moment it is

harvested. Water content is highest at that moment. For example, if any of

you has ever had the opportunity to eat corn right off the plant, it is

never better. The same is true for kale. It is also true that dinosaur kale

is a much softer variety; there are a couple of varieties of chard that are

much softer than the others, as well.

 

But none of this changes the underlying distinction I expressed in that

first post: tender greens are called by that name for a reason. They are the

ONLY vegetables that are genuinely easy for the human digestive system to

process. ALL other vegetables contain a much higher amount AND proportion of

insoluble/indigestible fiber, and we neither need nor process this material

particularly well.

 

Now if you formerly ate chocolate cake and switched to kale, there would be

a marked improvement. But when I switch people to tender greens, there is

again a marked improvement, though sometimes more subtle.

 

I am NOT saying that kale is bad for us, only that certain foods are

optimal. Speaking only for myself, I would prefer to choose optimal whenever

such a choice is available. You will likely never harm yourself eating kale,

or chard, or corn, unless you already have a seriously compromised digestive

tract. But your system will function somewhat better, particularly over

time, if you emphasize tender greens as your vegetables of choice.

 

Best to all,

Elchanan

 

 

--

---------------------[ Ciphire Signature ]----------------------

vlinfo signed email body (2226 characters)

on 18 April 2005 at 16:02:06 UTC

rawfood

-------------------------------

: Ciphire has secured this email against identity theft.

: Free download at www.ciphire.com. The garbled lines

: below are the sender's verifiable digital signature.

-------------------------------

00fAAAAAEAAAD+2WNCsggAALMDAAIAAgACACBZ36NZd8ice9rJ4ZlYrt6BrEjH8O

zzmKDQLsTNDUWDmAEAhgSkE5NuzzvORJkeFIi/NVXB9GCG1XVfaMj+yPGZ0X16QO

Vm4SB/xTF381phgA/sSnrA9fCSs4CficejEem4NA==

------------------[ End Ciphire Signed Message ]----------------