Consuming vegetables is necessary for good health, but we always resort to cooking the same ones, which can lead to boredom. So that this does not happen, today we want to introduce you to a vegetable that is very beneficial for your health: kale.
This vegetable helps us to take care of our body by delaying aging thanks to its antioxidant content, but this is not the only advantage we can find when consuming it.
If you want to learn more about this vegetable and know all the benefits that including it in your diet can bring you, we advise you to keep reading because we are going to discover them below.
What type of vegetable is kale?
When we talk about kale, we refer to a type of kale whose consumption is very beneficial for our health as it helps us to lose weight, keep our bones strong, and many other things that we will see below.
This vegetable is very similar to cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, brussels sprouts or even broccoli. It is also very easy to add to any diet since it can be consumed raw, in salads, grilled, or in any stew.
8 benefits of consuming kale for our health
As we have just seen, kale is a calciferous and as such, has many benefits for our health that are important to know.
Among them, it provides us with many nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that are necessary for the proper functioning of our body while helping us to avoid some diseases. But, if you want to know them in detail, we will tell you about them below.
1. Helps us lose weight
The first benefit of kale is that it is an ideal vegetable if you are on a weight loss diet. This is because it has a very low-calorie intake about the many nutrients it provides.
It is one of the most nutrient-dense foods. Something that makes it one of the most recommended foods for weight loss.
2. Promotes bone care
The second point in favor of this vegetable is that it is a great sourceof vitamin K, one of the essential vitamins for the formation and care of bones. A single cup of raw kale provides seven times the recommended daily amount of this vitamin.
But kale also has a high level of calcium, which helps bones and teeth to be stronger and, at the same time, helps the correct cellular functioning. All this makes it essential to prevent certain bone diseases such as osteoporosis.
3. Delays cellular aging
As with other cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, kale has a great antioxidant power thanks to elements such as quercetin and kaempferol which help us to delay the aging of our cells.
But it also contains very high levels of vitamin C, carotenoids, and flavonoids. All of them are essential elements for cellular care and help us to reduce the damage that the passage of time produces in our body.
4. Lowers cholesterol
Another of kale’s incredible powers is to increase good cholesterol (HDL) while reducing bad cholesterol levels, also known as LDL. This is because it contains minerals such as potassium and magnesium that help prevent the reabsorption of cholesterol by the liver.
In this sense, one of the best ways to consume this vegetable to get the most out of it is to make it raw or steamed . If you eat it this way, you will be less likely to suffer from heart disease in the future, such as heart attacks.
5. Prevents the onset of cancer
In addition to other antioxidants such as vitamin C that help prevent cell damage, kale also contains other compounds important for cancer prevention such as indole-3-carbinol or sulforaphane.
This is a potent antioxidant that, together with glucosinolates, prevents the cellular oxidation that sometimes causes the abnormal cell growth characteristic of this disease.
6. Prevents the onset of anemia
Among the minerals found in the composition of kale, one of the most important is iron, even more than beef.
This mineral is essential to provide energy to our body and its absence often causes anemia, something that we will not suffer if we consume this vegetable regularly.
7. Promotes hydration
Another of the great benefits of kale is that it helps us to stay hydrated thanks to its high water content .
But it also prevents the deficit of many minerals that are important for our health and that we lose as a result of dehydration, such as magnesium, calcium, or copper.
8. Take care of our eyesight
Last but not least, this vegetable also improves our vision’s functioning. This is because it contains a high level of Vitamin A, which is essential for protecting our eyesight as well as helping to strengthen our immune system.
As you can see, consuming kale can be extremely beneficial to our health, and it is also a type of vegetable with many methods of preparation, so you will never get bored of it. We encourage you to try it and let us know how it turned out.
