If you blinked, you may have missed National Kale Day on October 2. I did. The brainchild of Columbia University psychiatrist Drew Ramsey, Huffington Post offered a spate of kale recipes, and kale was deified, criticized, and satirized in the media. You could click to “Become a Kale Hero” or get an earful about how dangerous it is to “fixate on individual foods as curative sustenance, because your diet’s influence on your health is an incredibly complex equation” (NPR). Ramsey is convinced that eating kale promotes good mental health (Fifty Shades of Kale).

All sides have a point. I personally would argue that you should consume kale 3–5 times weekly for three reasons.

1. Kale’s nutritional profile is unmatched. Without getting into all the science here, kale lowers cancer risk, acts like the detox police in your cells, and reduces oxidative stress and inflammation. I’ve been reading a lot about chronic inflammation as the underlying cause of most American disease, and the research is convincing. Start with Dr. Barry Sears. Don’t let his cheesily named “Zone Diet” put you off. I’ll post more on this shortly, please stay tuned. [Read more…]