Kale is certainly the trendy kid on the block when it comes to dark leafy greens. It has earned a place in my kitchen, but some other greens deserve consideration as well.

One cup of kale has 36 calories and 0 grams of fat. Who cares? Almost all your greens will boast exceptionally low calories, and we all know by now that fat doesn’t make you fat, sugar makes you fat. From this standpoint, the green (or purple!) beauty isn’t all that special. Just like evaluating a pitcher in baseball though, the peripherals are what give kale that “booya.”

Let’s see how it stacks up against three other nutritional beasts in mustard greens, collard greens and swiss chard, and we’ll crown a champion.

I’m a stats guy, so let’s start with a few numbers that count. You’ll get vitamins A and C in abundance from kale. From Huffington Post:

Kale does exceed the other greens in vitamins A and C, but Swiss chard has 16 percent more iron than kale. Collard greens has 18 percent more calcium per serving of kale and double the amount of protein and iron. And mustard greens holds its own by having the least amount of calories and slightly more protein and calcium than kale. All four types of greens are also rich in many other nutrients, including manganese, folate, copper, choline, magnesium, potassium and vitamins E, K, B2 and B6.

Have a look at the chart below. It’s featured on numerous reputable sites and easily accessible with a quick web search:

It’s obvious that each representative has its virtues.

I’ll take the protein component out of this discussion. I’m a believer that our protein is most appropriately delivered in the form of animal flesh. For my vegetarian and vegan friends, you’ll have to work a little harder. From the Harvard School of Public Health:

Some of the protein you eat contains all the amino acids needed to build new proteins. This kind is called complete protein. Animal sources of protein tend to be complete. Other protein sources lack one or more “essential” amino acids—that is, amino acids that the body can’t make from scratch or create by modifying another amino acid. Called incomplete proteins, these usually come from fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts.

Vegetarians need to be aware of this. To get all the amino acids needed to make new protein—and thus to keep the body’s systems in good shape—people who don’t eat meat, fish, poultry, eggs, or dairy products should eat a variety of protein-containing foods each day.

So what else have we learned from our chart? Collard greens boast the most fiber and calcium, chard comes out on top for iron and kale takes the day for Vitamins A and C. Since there’s no clear winner here, eat them all. Throw the chard and kale in a salad for lunch, then cook up a batch of collards with some stock, butter, garlic and onions for dinner. You’ll cover all your bases.

Remember to mix in some spinach, Popeye.

Kap