Kale Health And Nutrition Benefits

Kale is an amazing vegetable being recognized for its exceptional nutrient richness, health benefits

The beautiful leaves from the kale plant offer an earthy flavor and much more nutritional value for fewer calories than just about any food around. Even though it can be found in markets throughout every season, it is in season in the middle of winter with the beginning of spring if this has a sweeter taste and it is more widely available.
Kale is really a leafy green vegetable that is one of the Brassica family, a group of vegetables including cabbage, collards, and Brussels sprouts which have gained recent widespread attention because of their health-promoting, sulfur-containing phytonutrients. It is easy to grow and may grow in colder temperatures in which a light frost will produce especially sweet kale leaves. There are many varieties of kale; included in this are curly kale, ornamental kale, and dinosaur (or Lacinato or Tuscan) kale, which differ in taste, texture, and search. The scientific reputation for kale is Brassica oleracea.

Health Benefits Of Kale

Whilst not as well researched as a number of its fellow cruciferous vegetables like broccoli or cabbage, kale is really a food that you can rely on for some unsurpassed health benefits, if for not one other reason than its exceptional nutrient richness. Within our own website food rating system, kale scored 4 “excellents,” 6 “very goods,” and 10 “goods”-for an overall total of 20 standout types of nutrient richness! That achievement is tough for most foods to complement.

Antioxidant-Related Health Benefits

Like most of its fellow cruciferous vegetables, kale continues to be studied more extensively in relationship to cancer than every other health condition. This research focus makes perfect sense. Kale’s nutrient richness sticks out in three particular areas: (1) antioxidant nutrients, (2) anti-inflammatory nutrients, and (3) anti-cancer nutrients as glucosinolates. Without sufficient consumption of antioxidants, our oxygen metabolism may become compromised, and we may feel a metabolic problem called “oxidative stress.” Without sufficient consumption of anti-inflammatory nutrients, regulation of our inflammatory system may become compromised, and we may feel the problem of chronic inflammation. Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation – and also the combination of these metabolic problems – are risks for development of cancer. We have seen research studies on 5 specific kinds of cancer – including bladder cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, ovarian cancer, and prostate cancer – and consumption of cruciferous vegetables (specifically including kale). Like a group, these studies definitely show cancer preventive benefits from kale intake, and perhaps, treatment benefits as well.

Anti-Inflammatory Health Benefits

We have yet to see specific research on inflammation and kale’s vitamin K content. But we all know that kale is really a spectacular source of vitamin K (single serving of kale provides much more micrograms of vitamin K than any one of our 135 World’s Healthiest foods) and that we also know that vitamin K is really a key nutrient for helping regulate our inflammatory process. Taken in combination, we expect both of these facts about vitamin K to end up tied together in health research that shows kale to become an exceptional food for lowering our chance of chronic inflammation and associated health problems.

Glucosinolates and Cancer-Preventive Benefits

What we should have already seen in the health research on kale is ample evidence that it is glucosinolates provide cancer-preventive benefits. Kale is really a top food source not less than four glucosinolates, and once kale is eaten and digested, these glucosinolates could be converted by the body into cancer preventive compounds. Kale’s glucosinolates and also the ITCs made from them have well-documented cancer preventive properties, and perhaps, cancer treatment properties too. At the top of the cancer-related research for kale are colon cancer and breast cancer, but chance of bladder cancer, prostate cancer, and ovarian cancer have been found to lower in relationship to routine consumption of kale. The chart below presents a listing of the unusual glucosinlate phytonutrients present in kale, and the anti-cancer ITCs produced from them inside the body.

Kale A Nutritional Powerhouse

Single serving of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% from the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It’s also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.
Kale’s health benefits are primarily from the high concentration and ideal source of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K — and sulphur-containing phytonutrients.
Carotenoids and flavonoids would be the specific types of antioxidants related to many of the anti-cancer health benefits. Kale can also be rich in the eye-health promoting lutein and zeaxanthin compounds.
Beyond antioxidants, the fiber content of cruciferous kale binds bile acids helping lower blood cholesterol levels and lower the risk of heart disease, especially when kale is cooked rather than raw.

Super-Rich in Vitamin K

Eating an eating plan rich in the powerful antioxidant vitamin K can help to eliminate the overall risk of developing or dying from cancer, based on a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Vitamin K is rich in kale but also present in parsley, spinach, collard greens, and animal products for example cheese.
Vitamin K is necessary for any wide variety of bodily functions, including normal blood clotting, antioxidant activity, and bone health.
But an excessive amount of vitamin K can pose problems for many people. Anyone taking anticoagulants for example warfarin should avoid kale since the high level of vitamin K may hinder the drugs. Talk to your doctor before adding kale for your diet.
Kale may well be a powerhouse of nutrients but can also be contains oxalates, naturally occurring substances that may interfere with the absorption of calcium. Do not eat calcium-rich foods like dairy simultaneously as kale to prevent any problems.

Nutritional Benefits Of Kale

Di-indolyl-methane (DIM), a metabolite of indole-3-carbinol has been discovered to be an effective immune modulator, anti-bacterial and anti-viral agent through its action of potentiating “Interferon-Gamma” receptors.
Borecole is extremely rich source of ß-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin. These flavonoids have strong anti-oxidant and anti-cancer activities. Beta-carotene is transformed into vitamin A in the body.
Zeaxanthin, an important dietary carotenoid, is selectively made available to the retinal macula lutea in the eyes where it’s thought to provide antioxidant and protective light-filtering functions. Thus, it will help prevent retinal detachment and offers protection against “age related macular degeneration disease” (ARMD) within the elderly.