Vegans are often told "eating just plant foods is OK as long as you make an exception for (fill in the blank)," especially when they are pursuing vegan weight loss diets. Even the guru of vegan dieting for health, Dr. Dean Ornish, now advises his patients to ensure adequate supplies of omega-3 essential fatty acids by taking fish oil.
Fighting fat by fighting inflammation
Omega-3 fatty acids fight the inflammation that traps fluid between fat cells and accelerate the loss of belly fat. They also play a protective role in stopping the progress of many other health problems that are fueled by inflammation. Adequate dietary supplies of omega-3 essential fatty acids are known to play a role in preventing changes that lead to high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, allergy, asthma, arthritis, and many forms of cancer.
While no leafy green or steamed vegetable provides the essential fatty acids DHA or EPA, many plant oils and plant foods provide alpha-linolenic acid, also known as ALA. The human body can transform ALA into the same DHA and EPA provided by fish oil. And for a source of ALA that is low in fat, consider the Greek green known as purslane.
Antioxidant benefits of purslane
A single 3-1/2 ounce (100 gram) serving of purslane provides the body with the raw materials to make the same amount of DHA and EPA as a single capsule of fish oil. It also provides the equivalent of a 100 IU capsule of vitamin E and about 30 per cent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C. Some scientific research suggests that purslane also contains compounds that may block estrogen from stimulating pre-cancerous cells in the breasts, ovaries, and uterus in women.
Easy to grow and tasty
In both temperate and hot climates, purslane is very easy to grow. Most gardeners find the problem with purslane is keeping it from taking over the whole garden, although its expansive stems die back at the first frost.
Slightly sour and puckery tender greens of purslane are a tasty addition to salads. Older purslane leaves and stems can be used to make stir-fries. Just be sure to remove the toughest stems before cooking. To serve purslane with a Japanese flavor, have your own Festival of the Seven Herbs (nanakusa-no-sekku), steaming purslane with daikon and other spring greens. Just be sure that any plant you cook as purslane is grown on land, not gathered from the banks of streams in the wild, since wild purslane may be both bitter and toxic.
Sources:
- Boga M, Hacgbekiroglu I, Kolak U. Antioxidant and anticholinesterase activities of eleven edible plants. Pharm Biol. 2011 Mar;49(3):290-5. Epub 2011 Feb.
