I love dandelion greens! I know that may come as a surprise given their often bitter flavor. In the spring, when dandelion greens are young, they tend to be less bitter and as the season progresses, so does their bitterness. But I love the bitterness, along with their crunchy texture. What I love likely the most about them is their nutritional value.
Dandelion greens are in the sunflower plant family (Asteraceae), along with lettuce, endive, escarole, frisée greens, sunflower seeds, and Jerusalem artichokes. The name for this plant has an interesting origin. I remember from a college botany class that the name “dandelion” was derived from the French “dent de lion” meaning “tooth of the lion” or “lion’s tooth”, due to the somewhat jagged tooth-like appearance of dandelion greens. The mineral content of dandelion greens is especially notable:
3 cups chopped dandelion greens (165 g)
Calcium 309 mg
Iron 5.1 mg
Zinc 0.70 mg
Potassium 655 mg
Magnesium 59 mg
As one can see, the leaves of this plant that is often regarded as a garden weed has significant nutritional value!
In addition, dandelion greens are known for their prebiotic fiber content specifically inulin. Three cups of dandelion greens contain almost 20 g of inulin!
Even though we do not have a daily value for prebiotic fiber, we do have established DRIs (specifically Adequate Intakes – AIs) for total fiber:
• 25 g for women (21 g over 50 years of age)
• 38 g for men (30 g over 50 years of age)
To put these numbers in perspective, most Americans get around 15 g of total fiber per day. Standard western diets tend to be lower in fruits, vegetables, and whole plant foods in general so this number is not surprising.
Given what we see here, I love dandelion greens even more!
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