Salad eaters, rejoice! Study shows beneficial nutrients enter bloodstream

Sunday, April 06, 2014 by: Raw Michelle
Tags: salad eaters, beneficial nutrients, vegetarian diet

(NaturalNews) It's not uncommon for salad eaters to face odd or even belittling comments about their preference for leafy greens and veggies. From declarations that they "eat like birds" to friends who frown and say such a way of eating is harmful, salad eaters have heard it all. However, one study has shown that people who eat salads are indeed getting all the nutrients and vitamins required; they are not severely lacking in them as many typically think.

The study was taken on by experts from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Louisiana State University who assessed the nutritional value of salad and raw vegetables to determine how we absorb their nutrients. More than 17,500 men and women were studied, and results consistently demonstrated that their bodies had elevated levels of vitamin C, lycopene and folic acid, to name just a few nutrients.

Health benefits of eating salads

So what do these results mean?

Not only did the study give people a better appreciation for those who enjoy raw food diets, but it shed even more light on the specific roles that raw foods play in health.

For example, elevated levels of vitamin C (which were noted in the study), are helpful because with more of the vitamin in our system, the body is better suited to absorb iron. In other words, lack of vitamin C may lead to lack of iron, which can contribute to anemia and other issues. Therefore, it's an essential vitamin with extensive benefits, and those enjoying salads are certainly consuming it. Furthermore, iron also helps move oxygen through the blood, contributing to healthy brain, muscle and immune system function.

Lycopene, the powerful antioxidant responsible for many fruits and vegetables' red coloring, has been shown to play a role in preventing health problems like macular degeneration and certain cancers. Tomatoes, which are typically in salads, contain lycopene.

As for folate, it's found in salads that include spinach, lettuce, brussels sprouts, broccoli and asparagus. Proper folate levels can help maintain healthy skin, hair, nails and blood and be beneficial when it comes to delivering a normal-weight, healthy baby.

So rest assured, salad eaters need not feast on the foods many incorrectly believe they must in order to achieve proper health. Raw food consumption does indeed provide proper absorption of nutrients into the bloodstream, as indicated by this study.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.naturalnews.com

http://ods.od.nih.gov

http://news.softpedia.com

http://science.naturalnews.com

About the author:
Raw Michelle is a natural health blogger and researcher, sharing her passions with others, using the Internet as her medium. She discusses topics in a straight forward way in hopes to help people from all walks of life achieve optimal health and well-being. She has authored and published hundreds of articles on topics such as the raw food diet and green living in general. >>> Click here to see more by Michelle