Collard Greens

Collards are leafy green vegetables that belong to the same family that includes cabbage, kale and broccoli. While they share the same botanical name as kale, Brassica oleracea, and some resemblance, they have their own distinctive qualities. Like kale, collards are one of the non-head forming members of the Brassica family. Collards' unique appearance features dark blue green leaves that are smooth in texture and relatively broad. They lack the frilled edges that are so distinctive to their cousin kale. The taste of collards can be described as pleasantly green and bitter.

History

Like kale, cauliflower and broccoli, collards are descendents of the wild cabbage, a plant thought to have been consumed as food since prehistoric times and to have originated in Asia Minor. From there it spread into Europe, being introduced by groups of Celtic wanderers around 600 B.C. Collards have been cultivated since the times of the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations.

Health Benefits

As members of the Brassica genus of foods, collards stand out as a nutritional superstar. It's the organosulfur compounds in collards that have been the main subject of phytonutrient research, and these include the glucosinolates and the methyl cysteine sulfoxides. Although there are over 100 different glucosinolates in plants, only 10-15 are present in collards and other Brassicas. Yet these 10-15 glucosinolates appear able to lessen the occurrence of a wide variety of cancers, including breast and ovarian cancers.

Exactly how collards' sulfur-containing phytonutrients prevent cancer is not yet fully understood, but several researchers point to the ability of the glucosinolates and cysteine sulfoxides to activate detoxifing enzymes in the liver that help neutralize potentially carcinogenic substances. (These detoxifying enzymes include the quinone reductases and glutathione-S-transferases). For example, scientists have discovered that sulforaphane, a potent glucosinolate phytonutrient found in collards and other Brassica vegetables, boosts the body's detoxification enzymes, potentially by altering gene expression, thus helping to clear potentially carcinogenic substances more quickly.

Sulforaphane, which is formed when cruciferous vegetables such as collards are chopped or chewed, not only triggers the liver to produce enzymes that detoxify cancer-causing chemicals, inhibits chemically-induced breast cancers in animal studies, and induces colon cancer cells to commit suicide, but has been shown in laboratory studies to help stop the proliferation of breast cancer cells, even in the later stages of their growth.

Sulforaphane may also offer special protection to those with colon cancer-susceptible genes, suggests a study conducted at Rutgers University and published online on May 4, 2006, in the journal Carcinogenesis.

In this study, researchers sought to learn whether sulforaphane could inhibit cancers arising from one's genetic makeup. Rutgers researchers Ernest Mario, Ah-Ng Tony Kong and colleagues used mice bred with a genetic mutation that switches off the tumor suppressor gene known as APC, the same gene that is inactivated in the majority of human colon cancers. Animals with this mutation spontaneously develop intestinal polyps, the precursors to colon cancer. The study found that animals who were fed sulforaphane had tumors that were smaller, grew more slowly and had higher apoptotic (cell suicide) indices. Additionally, those fed a higher dose of sulforaphane had less risk of developing polyps than those fed a lower dose. According to lead researcher, Dr. Kong, "Our study corroborates the notion that sulforaphane has chemopreventive activity…Our research has substantiated the connection between diet and cancer prevention, and it is now clear that the expression of cancer-related genes can be influenced by chemopreventive compounds in the things we eat."

Optimize Your Cells' Detoxification / Cleansing Ability

For about 20 years, we've known that many phytonutrients work as antioxidants to disarm free radicals before they can damage DNA, cell membranes and fat-containing molecules such as cholesterol. Now, new research is revealing that phytonutrients in cruciferous vegetables, such as collard greens, work at a much deeper level. These compounds actually signal our genes to increase production of enzymes involved in detoxification, the cleansing process through which our bodies eliminate harmful compounds.

The phytonutrients in cruciferous vegetables initiate an intricate dance inside our cells in which gene response elements direct and balance the steps among dozens of detoxification enzyme partners, each performing its own protective role in perfect balance with the other dancers. The natural synergy that results optimizes our cells' ability to disarm and clear free radicals and toxins, including potential carcinogens, which may be why crucifers appear to lower our risk of cancer more effectively than any other vegetables or fruits.

Optimizing Immune Function

Collard greens are an excellent source of vitamin A and a good source of zinc, two nutrients that can significantly help immune system function. Vitamin A is critically important for the health of epithelial and mucosal tissues, the body's first line of defense against invading organisms and toxins. The epithelium is a layer of cells forming the epidermis of the skin and the surface layer of mucous and serous membranes. All epithelial surfaces including the skin, vaginal epithelium, and gastrointestinal tract rely upon vitamin A. When vitamin A status is inadequate, keratin is secreted in epithelial tissues, transforming them from their normally pliable, moist condition into stiff dry tissue that is unable to carry out its normal functions, and leading to breaches in epithelial integrity that significantly increase susceptibility to the development of allergy and infection.
Broad Antioxidant Protection

In terms of conventional nutrients, collard greens are an excellent, very good or good source of the three main antioxidants in foods, vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin A (through its concentration of pro-vitamin A carotenoids like beta-carotene). While water-soluble vitamin C protects all aqueous environments both inside and outside cells, the fat-soluble antioxidants, vitamin E and beta-carotene (which is converted in the body to vitamin A), cover all fat-containing molecules and structures. Together, these antioxidants seek out and disarm free radicals, which would otherwise cause significant damage to life-sustaining molecules such as enzymes, as well as to cellular membranes, mitochondria and DNA.