Are you trying to eat more leafy greens? Then you’ve got to add kale to your diet! While it can be a little bitter on its own, it actually is very tasty when added to soups, stews, smoothies, and salads! On top of that, it’s full of vitamins and other healthy components! Check out these 5 Wonderful Health Benefits of Kale!
5 Wonderful Health Benefits of Kale
1. Full of Antioxidants
Free radicals are unstable molecules that are created in your body as a result of natural processes, and as a result of chemicals you eat or breathe in. Over time, if left unchecked free radicals can do a lot of damage to your body, possibly even causing cancer! That’s where antioxidants come in! Antioxidants neutralize free radicals so they can’t cause any more damage. And luckily, one of the health benefits of kale is that the leafy green is full of antioxidants! Kale contains carotenoids like beta-carotene and flavonoids like kaempferol, both of which are very helpful antioxidants!
2. Lowers Cholesterol
If you have high cholesterol, then kale could be great for you! It can increase your HDL (“good”) cholesterol at the same time as lowering your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. This is because kale is able to reduce how much cholesterol your body absorbs. The better your cholesterol levels, the healthier your heart and arteries will be, and the less likely it is that you’ll suffer a heart attack or stroke!
3. Calcium Rich
Little kids aren’t the only ones who benefit from having a lot of calcium! As we get older, calcium is critical in keeping our bones healthy and preventing osteoporosis. If you’d like to get your calcium in one of the healthiest ways possible, then you should eat more kale! Another one of the great health benefits of kale is that 100 grams of kale has more calcium than 100 grams of milk! And it’s so easy to chop up and add to dishes you already eat!
4. High in Vitamin K
Did you know that vitamin K is essential for healthy blood clotting? If you were vitamin K deficient, you would find that a simple cut bled much longer than it should because your body wouldn’t be able to quickly form a clot to stop it. Vitamin K helps to keep your bones strong, too. Which is why it’s great that one of the health benefits of kale is that it’s full of vitamin K! A single cup of kale has more than 5 times the daily recommended amount of vitamin K! So adding a leaf or two to your smoothie could definitely help keep you healthy!
5. Helps to Fight Cancer
If you’re trying to follow an anti-cancer diet, kale needs to feature in your meals! Because of all the nutrients and antioxidants in it, kale is a great anti-cancer food. On top of that, it contains substances like indole-3-carbinol, which has been shown to help prevent the growth of cancer cells!
Do you like eating kale?
I’ve never even tried Kale. I will have to try it. Thanks for all the info.
I didn’t know this about Kale.
I’ve never tried Kale.
My Dad grew kale in his garden when I was a kid so I grew up eating it. I love it! I wasn’t aware of all the health benefits though, that only makes it better! 🙂
I’ve never had kale not sure I’d like it.Sounds like it’s very good for you.