Newbie – BELOVED KALE!

A great article from antioxidants-guide.com

“You know, it’s that curly green stuff you push to one side on your dinner plate and don’t bother to eat (because it looks and tastes boring)! Well, here is our advice….

Eat it!…for your health’s sake.

Kale is an unbelievably healthy vegetable.

Where do I start?

OK, here goes…the health benefit of kale. It is an excellent source of…

• Manganese
• Iron
• Copper
• Calcium
• Dietary Fiber
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin B1, B2, B6 …as well as a host of other phytonutrients.

  But where kale gets an A+ is it’s vitamin A content. It is an excellent source of beta carotene. Just one portion of kale is only 36 calories but it provides a massive 192% of your daily vitamin A needs.

  Australian research has found that people who eat beta-carotene rich foods are less likely to develop

  skin cancer. That’s not the ‘green light’ to go running out into the sun, burning to a frazzle, and relying on beta-carotene protection to save you!

  Want protection against lung diseases? Exposed to a lot of smoke with the risk of emphysema? If the answer is yes….you need to eat vitamin A rich foods, and kale will definitely help here.
  Kale is an excellent source of 

  Vitamin C too. A daily portion of the green stuff provides a whopping 89% of your daily vitamin C requirement.

  Vitamin C is associated with a reduced risk of

  colon cancer, In addition it is also connected with reducing radicals that trigger inflammatory diseases and is therefore associated with reduction of severity of problems such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and asthma.

  One portion of kale will cater for 10.5% of your daily fiber requirements.

• Vitamin E

What does fiber do?

  It helps to reduce cholesterol and stop arteries from becoming clogged up. It helps to keep blood sugar under control…great for diabetics.

It is good for people with irritable bowel syndrome as it aids constipation and diarrhea. Also fiber helps provide protection against colon cancer. 
 

Need calcium? Allergic or intolerant to dairy products? Well kale is a great source of calcium…not as high as cow’s milk, but does not have the saturated fat associated with cow’s milk…..so it is excellent for kids excellent for kids helping with their bone development and adults too.

Kale is also famous for its carotenoids..especially zeaxanthin and lutein….and these can be a great protector against cataracts.

Lutein is a very powerful antioxidant, it has a yellow pigment (the yellow is covered up by chlorophyll in green leaves) with newly discovered powers to fight disease.

Most adults eat about 1 milligram of lutein a day. Experts recommend at least 4-6mg of that powerful disease fighter.

Now get this…Kale contains sulphorane…which only becomes apparent when cruciferous veggies such as kale, cabbage and broccoli are chewed or chopped (that’s what gives the sulphorous cabbagy taste).  

But it’s What sulphorane does that’s important. It encourages the liver to produce enzymes that detoxify cancer causing chemicals, especially those connected to chemically-induced breast cancer and colon cancer.

  Studies have also shown that sulphorane may protect against genetic cancers too.(i.e cancer caused by a genetic predisposition~my BRCA~and many others).

Kale is a member of the brassica family along with cauliflower, collard greens and broccoli. Nice family the brassicas, they are known to be anti-cancerous and they contain glucosinolates.  

Apparently there are over 100 different glucosinolates, of which about 15 are present in the brassica family…..and nowhere else!

Now..are you going to ignore and push it to one side of your plate again after reading about the health benefit of kale?…somehow, I don’t think so!”

The health benefit of kale…it really is one of health’s superstars.

 I found a lot of my information about kale from several books and websites. I knew that is was good for you, but after reading all the I found I am kind of excited to get my daily dose! It’s just another step for me to be pro-active about my genetic dis-advantage. It doesn’t taste so bad once you decide to eat it for health sake. In fact now I look forward to it… most days anyway.

Now if you are wondering, what Kale is and how to use it…

I like to lay the leaf dark side down and just cut the white center out.

  

 Then I chop it into small bite size squares, it just makes it easier to eat after its steamed.

I put just enough water in the bottom of my pan to cover it, then heat the pan on high until the water starts to boil. Then I place the kale in the pan and cover. I leave it on high for about 30sec and then just turn off the heat and let it steam for 2-4minutes.

I like to squeeze a little lemon and some Bragg’s liquid aminos on mine and just eat it warm.

There are a lot of other ways to sneak kale into our kids smoothies, salsas, salads… endless possibilities. Get creative and share your ideas with us.

Source: WFM Blog 16