Many people choose romaine lettuce for salads because of its mild taste, fresh crunch, and versatility in recipes. While it has a higher level of sodium than other greens (77 mg per cup), it runs close to spinach with the level of nutrients it offers. With a rainbow variety of stems, Swiss chard can add color to your plate-and a load of nutrients to boot. It also has a mild flavor that makes it easy to pair with a variety of fruits and vegetables or to blend up in smoothies.

Spinach was Popeye’s green of choice for good reason-it is substantially higher than the powerhouse kale in calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin K, and folate. Kale can be a bit difficult to chew when raw, so try rubbing the leaves in olive oil, or lightly steaming before eating them. When compared to other plants, it is lower in specific nutrients-for instance, kale contains less calcium than does spinach, collard greens, and arugula-so again, it is important to rotate different plant leaves through your diet. Kale has developed a reputation for being one of the most healthy plant foods available, with a high level of nutrients in its leaves. Here is a general overview of seven of the most common leafy greens, and a side-by-side comparison of the levels of a few of their minerals and vitamins.

A general rule of thumb is the darker the leaf color and the more variety in color and plants, the better off you are. So it’s important to rotate different plant leaves through your diet. The truth is, although some greens are more nutritionally dense than others, there is not one specific green that beats all others in the level of each individual nutrient. You’ve probably heard the hype about kale and spinach.

Carbs in iceberg lettuce