Why Kale Deserves to be on your Plate

Eating healthy is definitely in vogue now and ‘superfoods’ are on the top of the list. Including these high nutrition foods in your diet will only do you good. One such superfood that has all necessary superpowers is Kale. Also known as leaf cabbage, Kale comes from the cabbage family and is categorised as a cruciferous vegetable. This green-leafy superfood is home to a bunch of powerful nutrients. Let’s learn more about kale and why it deserves to be on your salad plate every day.

Nutrient Dense Food

Kale is known to contain a plethora of vitamins, specifically Vitamin A, K, C, and Vitamin B1, B2 B6. Vitamin C helps with the synthesis of collagen which is the most commonly available protein in the body. A small bowl of kale will have more Vitamin C than an entire orange. Vitamin K helps in blood clotting and a bowl of Kale can give you up to 7 times the recommended daily intake. Kale is also loaded with nutrients like calcium, magnesium, copper and potassium. All these not only aid in day-to-day bodily functions but also adds to your immunity.

Anti-oxidant abundant

Like other green leafy vegetables, Kale is rich in antioxidants like quercetin and kaempferol. Kale helps the body prevent itself from oxidative damage. Oxidative damage is responsible for the ageing of the body and other diseases even including cancer. These antioxidants have powerful heart-protective, blood pressure-lowering, anti-inflammatory and anti-depressant effects.

Reduces the risk of heart disease

Excess cholesterol is the primary reason for heart-related diseases. Substances known as bile acid sequestrants combine bile acids in the digestive system and block them from being reabsorbed.Which, in turn, helps in reducing the total amount of cholesterol in the body.

Kale actually contains these bile acid sequestrants, which help in combating cholesterol levels and reduce the chances of any heart diseases.

Cancer-fighter

Cancer, as we all know is a terrible disease where a patient experiences uncontrolled growth of certain cells. Kale is surprisingly loaded with compounds like sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol which have been shown to help fight the formation of cancer at the molecular level. Also, various studies have indicated that cruciferous vegetables are already helpful in fighting cancer.

Helps in weight management

Using Kale in your salads can prove beneficial in losing weight, as it not only is low in calories, but it makes one feel full, due to its bulky nature. The low calorie and high water content make kale a low energy dense food. Studies have shown that eating plenty of foods with a low energy density helps in weight loss.

So next time, don’t try and avoid the delicious and healthy kale on your salad plate.

Here are 3 simple healthy recipes to start with.

https://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/Recipe/Kale-and-Mint-Taboulleh.html

https://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/Recipe/Kale-Chips.html

https://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/Recipe/Kale-Smoothie.html