bfit4life
17 March,2008

Will Greens help my Thunder Thighs ?

Question

picture greensI am a female with more body fat in my lower body. I have heard you mention that Green vegetables help get your legs leaner. What benefits do green vegetables have?

Answer

There are many benefits to green vegetables and since it’s St Patrick’s weekend it is a very appropriate subject. Vegetables and fruits provide an alkaline load to the blood. Since both proteins and grains present acid loads to the blood, it’s important to balance these acids with alkaline rich vegetables and fruits. Too much acid and not enough alkalinity means the loss of bone strength and muscle mass. The more alkaline your body is the less likely you are to lose muscle mass. Cortisol, the body’s stress hormone puts the body in an acidified status. Green drinks or green vegetables can help reverse this and they can help you burn fat. Green vegetables contain more fibre, and they have a higher mineral and nutrient content which produces a smaller insulin response and it leads to better blood sugar management.

When you are cooking your vegetables it is important to note that Microwaving destroys 97% of the flavonoids in the vegetables. Boiling destroys 66% of the flavonoids while steaming produces only a minimal loss.

Higher body-fat on your hamstrings on the back of your legs versus the fat measurement on the back of your arms is normally a sign of excess estrogens. Your body produces estrogens but in the modern era we are exposed to a number of xenoestrogens that mimic the estrogens of your body and the body struggles to detoxify them. The worst estrogens promoter is beer. There are certain foods that help pull the excess bad estrogens from your system. There are 3 types of Estrogens in the body, Estrogen 2- the good, Estrogen 4- the bad and Estrogen 16- the ugly. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, watercress, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and turnips contain the highest amount of sulphorates which helps pull out the bad estrogens 4 & 16 out of the body.  
Instead of drinking coffee, you could do worse than to start drinking organic green tea. Female body-builders have been known to use sulphorane added tea to get their legs leaner for competition.