Natural Benefits of Kale
Kale is an ancient wild cabbage with purple or green leaves. Kale is one of the oldest vegetable in Europe and is known to be one of the most nutritious vegetables in the world. In fact, Kale is considered one of the super foods of the planet. Kale has many vitamins and minerals inside it. Nowadays, this veggie has been more popular because of its anti-cancerous and anti-inflammatory benefits, jam packed with antioxidants. Along with its innumerous nutritious benefits, kale also helps in weight loss.
Due to its increasing popularity, there’s a lot of curiosity about the benefits of kale. Let’s look at some natural benefits of this wonder vegetable and see why kale is indeed no less than a Superfood!
1. Disease prevention!
Kale has many health benefits because reduces the chances of various diseases. Kale protects our cardiovascular system; it therefore discourages the incidence of heart diseases. Kale has tremendous power to prevent cancer too. It also detoxifies and reverses anemia. Kale also eliminates osteoporosis from our body and makes our bones strong with its calcium content.
2. Rich in vitamins!
This vegetable is very rich in vitamins. One cup of kale is enough to complete a normal person’s daily dose of vitamins K, A and C.
Vitamin K is very important for our body especially for blood regulation. One cup of kale contains 547 grams of vitamin K. This vitamin, in addition to controlling blood regulation, also controls blood clotting. Along with this, it is also helpful in maintaining strong and healthy bones, thereby controlling osteoporosis and bone fractures. This vitamin also controls inflammatory process in our body, thus making our bones even stronger.
Vitamin A has a key role in prevention of cancer. It is mostly present in animal based products but in plants, it comes as carotenoids. In
this way, vitamin A functions as antioxidant and provides numerous benefits such making our immune system stronger by inhibiting the growth of cancerous cells in our body. Research has revealed that it also has anti-aging benefits.
Vitamin C functions as antioxidant and it is responsible in inhibiting the occurrence of degenerative diseases. A cup of kale contains nearly 81 grams of vitamin C that is much more than the required daily intake of this vitamin.
3. Weight loss and body detox!
Kale contains two elements that play a vital role in detoxification and weight loss. Kale contains dietary fiber and sulfur. Fiber is responsible for elimination of toxins and accumulated wastes inside our body. Sulfur, on the other hand, is one of the most abundant mineral of our body and it has key function in digestion. Therefore, being abundant in fiber and sulfur, kale is a tremendous detoxifier for our body. Along with this, higher content of sulfur helps in losing weight.
4. Rich in minerals!
One cup of kale also contains the following minerals that are necessary constituents of a balanced diet:
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Zinc
- Phosphorus
- Manganese
- Iron
- Calcium
5. Low in calories!
Kale is amazingly low in calories and only 100 calories of kale can contribute 30 to 40 percent of omega 3 fatty acid ALA (Alpha-linoleic Acid) and it also contributes 92.4 mg of omega-6 fatty acids.
Also, since kale contains higher levels of sulfur, it aggregates the production of bile and decrease in sugar level. In this way, kale can lower cholesterol in our body. Lowering of cholesterol is very important for our body as it ensures a healthy and promising life, free of risk factors and comorbidities.
6. An anti-cancerous food!
Kale has many compounds that are helpful in inhabiting the growth of cancerous cells. In 2009, Chinese researchers found that a 
compound, isothiocyanates, which is present in kale, reduces the activation of carcinogens. Immunoglobulin-A or lgA is responsible for the defense of our body against microbial and many other invaders, and kale protects lgA in order to prevent any invasion of carcinogens. Even if the cancerous cells are present in our body, it reprograms them to die-off.
These are some of the benefits of kale that are worth noting in order to consume this vegetable on regular basis. Its nutritive benefits are diverse and all works naturally to heal the body and protect it from various harms. Kale is undoubtedly one of the very famous vegetable globally, all thank to its multifaceted natural benefits. Let’s put it more on our platters and eat away for a healthier and balanced lifestyle.
You can find out the status of your health by coming in for a Functional Thermogram. It helped me to keep my body in balanve.
Johanna Oosterwijk ND
