Kale is a green leafy vegetable that comes from the brassica family and is related to cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and brussel sprouts (aka cruciferous vegetables).
It’s been labeled a superfood in many circles and that is because this green leafy is loaded with valuable nutrients. The health benefits of kale are also many, so let’s explore both nutrition and health benefits now.
Kale Nutriton Facts
Kale’s nutrient profile is very impressive, mostly for the amount of micronutrients (aka vitamins and minerals) it provides.
Macronutrient content is:
- protein 3.97-4.37g/100g
- carbohydrate 10.14g/100g
- fat 0.4-1.3g/100g
It also contains loads of fibre 7-9g/100g, polyphenols 503-675mg/100g, carotenoids and flavonoids, not to mention other nutrients. Take a look at this table to view the percentage of daily nutrients kale provides.
Health Benefits of Kale
With all of the above nutrients you’d already be feeling like this could be a valuable item to have in your diet, right? The answer is YES, it’s a great vegetable to eat regularly.
So what are some of the health benefits?
Let’s just list them all for easy reference.
- Super high antioxidant power to fight free radicals
- Anticarcinogenic to guard against cancer
- Protects the eyes from macular degeneration
- Lowers cholesterol
- Prevents oxidative stress thus reducing atherosclerosis, cataracts, and pulmonary disease
- High in anti-inflammatory compounds
- Supports bowel health
- Supports many of the bodys vital functions due to it’s valuable nutrient profile
As you can see it provides many valuable benefits.
It’s best to eat it raw or lightly blanched in order to receive the full antioxidant benefits of kale as up to 38% of the antioxidant activity is lost with cooking, especially vitamin C reduced by 89%. However you will still get loads of nutrition even if it is cooked, just not as many antioxidants.
I use kale in my breakfast omelette, as a side to dinner, in salads, and even eat them as chips.
Have you tried kale? What’s your favourite way to eat it?
Jedha
Thanks for writing about the benefits of kale ~ We love it! This last summer we had a BIG Kale plant grow, and it gave us many days of kale. So much kale that we had to freeze a large portion of it for winter ~
That can only be a good thing! Yet another thing about Kale, it grows really easily