Why You Should Not Rule Kale Out of Your Diet
According to studies, kale is one of the most nutritious vegetables in the world. It is considered to be a super healthy vegetable.
Kale is packed with numerous healthy nutrients and compounds that are beneficial for a man’s healthy growth. These properties are quite medicinal and can help in the prevention of certain health conditions.
A number of benefits have been highlighted by nutritionists to be the health benefits kale provides you with when you add it to your diet. Some of these health benefits include;
Kale is One of the Healthiest Leafy Vegetables on Earth
Being a famous calciferous vegetable in the cabbage family, kale is packed with numerous health benefits. There are different varieties of kale. Some kale varieties differ in color and shape. Some kale leaves are curly in shape, while others are smooth. On the other hand, some kale leaves are purple in color, while others are green. Despite these variations, the most common kind of kale is known as curly kale. Curly kale has curly leaves, has stems that are fibrous, and is hard when touched. The following are nutritional components of kale;
- Vitamin A; contains 201% of the daily value intake of vitamin A
- Vitamin B6; contains 10% of the daily value intake of vitamin B6
- Vitamin K; contains 680% of the daily value intake of vitamin K
- Vitamin C; contains 130% of the daily value intake of vitamin C
- Copper; contains 9% of the daily value intake of copper
- Manganese; contains 29% of the daily value intake of manganese
- Potassium; contains 10% of the daily value intake of potassium
- Calcium; contains 11% of the daily value intake of calcium
- Magnesium; contains 9% of the daily value intake of magnesium
- It is also found to contain about 3-5% of the daily value intake of vitamin B1(thiamin), vitamin B3(niacin), vitamin B2(riboflavin), phosphorus, and iron.
The total of all the nutrients that kale vegetable is composed of is 33, with 3g of fiber, 5g of carbohydrate, and 4g of protein.
Kale also contains healthy amounts of healthy fats. This healthy fat is an omega 3 kind of fat, which is known as alpha-linolenic acid. Due to its tiny calorie content, kale is considered to also be a nutrient-dense food and one of the most high-grade of its kind in existence.
Adding kale to your diet automatically helps you boost the number of nutrients contained in your diet.
Contains Antioxidants
Kale contains high amounts of antioxidants. These antioxidants include; kaempferol and quercetin, as well as flavonoids, vitamin c, polyphenols, and beta-carotene.
These antioxidants help combat or fight off oxidative damages caused by certain free radicals that must have built up in the body as a result of certain lifestyles and certain poor feeding habits or diet errors. Most of the common effects of oxidative damages include cancers, quick aging as well as certain other health conditions.
Kale is packed with large amounts of these antioxidants, and thus, gives it the ability to give the heart optimum protection, regulate blood pressure. They also provide anti-fungal and anti-viral, as well as anti-cancer effects.
It Contains Large Amounts of Vitamin C
Vitamin C is popular for its numerous health benefits to the body. As much as it is water-soluble, it is also an antioxidant that helps combat oxidative damage in the body and also protects the body cells and vital organs in the body. Vitamin C is considered to be an essential, must-be-present compound for the synthesis of collagen in the body. Collagen is one of the most available proteins in the body.
Studies show that kale is one of the best sources of vitamin C in the whole world, and when the research was carried out on both kale and orange, it was discovered that one cup of kale contained more vitamin C compound than one orange.
Lowers Cholesterol
One of the enemies of the heart is bad cholesterol. When the cholesterol in your body becomes alarmingly high, it automatically means that your heart health is at risk. However, when you consume kale, its nutritional contents help beat down the cholesterol level and also protect the heart simultaneously.
Also, it is used as a constituent in the manufacturing of bile acids, which helps the body digest healthy fat instead of leaving it to accumulate unhealthily.
Kale enhances bile acid sequestrants that hinder bile acids from being absorbed into the bloodstream from the digestive system. Thus, lessening the amount of cholesterol in the body. When kale produces this effect, heart disease risks begin to reduce. According to research, when you drink kale juice for about 10 to 12 weeks, your blood cholesterol level will drop by over 20%.
Another study found that steaming or heating kale juice before drinking even increases its potency. Steaming kale juice before drinking makes it 40% equal to cholestyramine, a drug that is usually recommended for the reduction of lowering of cholesterol in the body.
Contains High Vitamin K Content
Vitamin K is an indispensable nutrient for the body. It is responsible for the clotting of blood. By so doing, it empowers certain proteins by providing the ability to hold calcium together. One cup of kale contains about 6 times more than the daily required amount of vitamin K intake.
Anti-cancer Agents
Kale contains numerous anti-cancer agents. Cancer occurs when unhealthy and harmful cells begin to grow and develop in certain areas of the body. Kale is a natural vegetable that contains properties or agents that are capable of inhibiting the growth of certain unhealthy and harmful cells that cause cancer.
It contains sulforaphane, which is popularly known in the medical world to help combat and prevent cancer. Research carried out on kale, and other cruciferous vegetables have the potentials of beating down cancer risks by some reasonable amounts.
Contains High Beta-Carotene Amounts
As much as we think that kale contains vitamin A, it is not 100% true, as it actually contains beta-carotene, which then gets converted into vitamin A. In other words, we can say that kale contains converted vitamin A.
Great Sources of Healthy Minerals
Kale contains essential and healthy minerals that are required to keep and maintain a healthy body. Most minerals are usually not available in large amounts, thus, making it difficult for people to get enough of these minerals. In other words, people are deficient in these minerals because they are not readily available in large quantities in foods and fruits. However, kale, on the other hand, is a great source of minerals that are packed in large and sufficient amounts, enough for anyone’s daily intake value.
It contains calcium. That is, it is a plant-based calcium supplier. It strengthens the bones and performs important cellular functions.
It also contains magnesium, a mineral that almost everyone is deficient in. magnesium helps in the prevention of type 2 diabetes.
In addition, potassium is an essential mineral that is packed within kale. Potassium is known for its reduction of heart-related illness risks. It is also associated with the lowering or reduction of high blood pressure.
Eye Protection
The eyes are the window to the body. When the eyes no longer function, a person is engulfed by darkness. As much as everyone wants a sharp and clear sight for the rest of their lives, age takes the quality of your sight away with time. However, in order to reduce the effect of aging on the quality of sight, including kale and other eye-healthy foods in your diet will do the job of preserving your sight from the claws of old age.
Kale has high lutein and zeaxanthin nutrients that are known to be awesome protectors of the eyes. Carotenoids antioxidants, which perform almost the same function as zeaxanthin and lutein, are higher in kale than in other vegetables. People who consume more kale have lower risks of developing severe eye conditions like macular degeneration, cataract, and other terrible eye illnesses.
Weight Loss
Research suggests that kale should be able to aid weight loss. This is because it is low in calories and has high water contents, which automatically reduces its energy density. According to studies, foods that have low energy density have high tendencies of helping with weight loss.
In conclusion, adding kale to your diet means you are boosting the number of nutritional benefits in your diet. Kale is quite easy to be incorporated into diets, helps with the prevention of certain illnesses, and can also be eaten raw as a snack.