This is part of my A to Z Challenge for April

I’ve never really been a big greens eater. I would get cranky when people asked me if I didn’t get tired of only being able to eat salads. I hardly ever ate salads. Now, I’m a fan. I like a huge salad topped with all kinds of vegetables. When I say huge I’m talking about salads eaten out of mid-sized mixing bowls, not wimpy little bowls.

I also found myself craving steamed kale. I don’t even recognize myself any more.

There is one really cool thing that it was just recently learned that greens can do. If you are a biology nerd like me, this is the kind of stuff that is just amazing.

There is a compound called nitric oxide in the body that helps dilate blood vessels. You lose it as you age. It does all kinds of good things for you. It was just recently discovered that if you chew greens, the bacteria on your tongue interact with the greens and then the stomach acid to make a burst of nitric oxide. Not only that, it is then taken up and deposited in the parotid salivary gland so when you chew for the next few hours you are getting repeated bursts of nitric oxide.

So eat your greens. They are the gift that keeps on giving.