Last week I suggested, chlorella as a great green way to nutritionally participate in St. Paddy's Day (particularly to detox after too much green beer), and in continuing with our green theme, I would like to introduce a favourite leafy green: swiss chard.

Swiss chard is actually a member of the beet family, although, unlike beets, we only tend to eat the greens rather than the root. Swiss chard is an excellent source of manganese, magnesium, vitamin K,vitamin E, folic acid, selenium and has about as much vitamin C as an orange. It's also a good source of calcium, potassium, iron and zinc. Swiss chard is a good source of the B vitamin niacin, which is helpful in keeping that cholesterol count low and those energy levels up.

Leafy greens, including Swiss chard, are great sources of a phytonutrient category called carotenes. This includes beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A and an antioxidant in its own right. Swiss chard also contains the carotene phytonutrients zeaxanthin and lutein, both vitally important for eye health and found to decrease chances of suffering macular degeneration. Lutein has been shown in studies to prevent and reverse, to a certain extent, issues with immunity, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Swiss chard is also a great source of chlorophyll, the stuff that makes green plants green. Consumption of chlorophyll has been found to help with wound healing, ulcers, inflammation and even helps to freshen breath. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, chlorophyll is important for the heart and is considered a good blood builder. Chlorophyll is one of our best sources of magnesium in our diet, so load up on those leafy greens!

Swiss chard is a tough green, so it's best to cook it (although you can eat it raw if you don't mind a lot of chewing). If you can find young chard, it's more tender and therefore better for raw applications. Chard actually comes in a variety of colours. While the leaves remain green, the stems can be all sorts of different colours which are sometimes sold together as "rainbow chard". Its got a slightly bitter flavour is similar to spinach although a little heartier. It's great in soups, curries or stews or even just fried up with some garlic and onions and served over rice. I was at a friend's house for breakfast once and she chopped up some chard and added it to scrambled eggs. It was delicious.

So check your local market or farmers' market for Swiss chard. But be sure to eat it relatively quickly - chard does not have a very long shelf-life!

The Healthy Foodie is Doug DiPasquale, Holistic Nutritionist and trained chef, living in Toronto. Doug specializes in private in-home holistic cooking lessons. You can email him with inquiries or questions for the blog at dugdeep@gmail.com.