Tip: Eating greens can keep you in the pink

Popeye ate his spinach to make him strong. It also may have kept him healthy.

A study by British scientists concluded that eating more green leafy vegetables was associated with a reduced risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. The researchers found that those who ate more than one serving of leafy vegetables reduced their chance of developing diabetes by 14 percent, compared to those who did not eat a serving a day. The researchers theorized that the antioxidants in the vegetables helped protect against the disease, which is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. The study was published in a recent issue of the scientific journal BMJ.

In addition to spinach, among the green leafy vegetables packing the biggest antioxidant punch are broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts.