Mustard Greens
Food · Vegetable · Food, Typed Supps
Mustard greens are peppery leafy greens that pack an outsized dose of vitamin K along with vitamin A, vitamin C, and plant compounds you won't get from lettuce.
Stage by stage
- Chewing & Release (Mouth): Chewing crushes the leaf's cells, releasing the enzyme myrosinase along with sharp mustard-oil flavor compounds.
- Stomach Breakdown (Stomach): Stomach acid and digestive enzymes break down plant tissue, freeing the vitamins bound inside the leaf.
- Intestinal Absorption (Small Intestine): The small intestine absorbs vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin A precursors, and minerals, with the fat-soluble vitamins needing some dietary fat for best uptake.
- Bone & Blood Support (Bones & Liver): Vitamin K reaches the liver and bones, supporting normal blood clotting and helping bone proteins bind calcium.
Timing
Since vitamin K and vitamin A are fat-soluble, eating mustard greens alongside a bit of oil, nuts, or a fatty protein improves how much of those vitamins your body actually absorbs.
Time to effect
- Weeks to months: Vitamin C-related effects can appear within hours to days, but the bone- and clotting-related benefits of mustard greens' abundant vitamin K accrue only with weeks to months of consistent intake.
Allergens
None of the fourteen major allergens. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.
Eating patterns
Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher, Keto, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP.
Satiety
The satiety index is measured on 240 kcal servings. At 27 kcal per 100 g that is 889 g of this, which is not a serving anyone eats — so the index has nothing to say about it.
Environmental footprint
0.5 kg CO2e and 108 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Other vegetables" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.
Cost band
Cheap — roughly £2.5 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.
Key nutrients
Nutrition per 100g
- Calories: 27
- Protein: 2.7g
- Carbohydrate: 4.7g
- of which sugars: 1.3g
- Fat: 0.4g
- of which saturated: 0g
- Fibre: 3.2g
- Sodium: 20mg
Food vs. supplement
Mustard greens supply vitamin K bundled with fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A precursors, and glucosinolates — a combination no single-nutrient vitamin K supplement replicates, and one most people don't need since a single cooked cup often meets or exceeds the adult Daily Value on its own.
Kitchen tip
Steam or briefly saute mustard greens rather than boiling them into mush; a few minutes of heat mellows the peppery bite and reduces goitrogenic compounds while preserving most of the vitamin content.
Common myth
"Mustard greens are basically just spicy lettuce with no real nutritional value." In reality: In reality, mustard greens are far more nutrient-dense than lettuce: they are an exceptional source of vitamin K, a good source of vitamin C and vitamin A, and contain glucosinolate compounds lettuce simply doesn't have — though that same vitamin K density means people on warfarin or similar blood thinners need to watch their intake consistency.
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