Benefits of kale: the vegetable is anti-inflammatory and healing –

Indispensable ingredient of the very Brazilian feijoada and broth green, which we inherited from Portugal, kale, in addition to being cheap and easy to find throughout the country, offers several benefits. And the more experts study this vegetable, the more advantages appear. It even looks like a medicine leaflet: it is anti-inflammatory and healing.

Where do these powers come from? Glucosinolates, natural phytochemicals that, due to their detoxifyingstimulate the body to get rid of even carcinogenic substances, in addition to strengthening the immune system.

Read more: Kale and Lemon Green Power Juice

When you put the vegetable on your plate, you also help yourself to an incredible variety of vitamins and minerals that, combined with phytochemicals, favor the absorption of others. nutrients of the meal, especially calcium. In this regard, nutritionist Denise Madi Carreiro, from São Paulo, even compares the leaf to breast milk.

Denise, who is a professor of the postgraduate course in Functional Clinical Nutrition at the Valéria Paschoal Center, says that kale is a food that is even more suitable for bones than cow’s milk. “It carries calcium and magnesiumwhich work together to perform different functions, such as forming bone mass in the right proportion”, explains the specialist.

Cow’s milk has nine times less magnesium and three times more calcium than the required proportion. According to Denise, this makes it difficult for the calcium in milk to settle in our skeleton. “Worse, it robs the body of existing magnesium. And since most of this mineral is concentrated within the bone, consuming more calcium than magnesium increases the risk of bone loss. From there, it’s a short jump to osteoporosis”, says the expert.

Understand: 5 detox recipes with kale

Other benefits

Chemicals are partners in many other tasks: helping the body get rid of the buildup of fatkeep blood pressure under control, regulate the action of hormones and control the movements of muscles – Calcium contracts muscles and Magnesium relaxes them. In addition, the latter is fundamental for the formation and functioning of all neurotransmitters, without exception. That’s why without it you feel discouraged and even moody.

In kale, magnesium is part of chlorophyll – a substance that gives the green color to the leaf and with the potential to renew the cells of our organism. It means that the vegetable has this advantage: it rejuvenates. After discovering all her powers, we even feel like making a ′′ plantation ′′ at home.

Stay in the know: Having a vegetable garden at home brings positive effects to the body and mind

But since almost no one has the space or time for that, went after practical consumption suggestions for you. Take the opportunity to put kale more often on your menu.

delicious recipes

Crunchy salad

Ingredients:

6 cabbage leaves, cut into thin strips 1 medium carrot, peeled and grated 12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half Olive oil, lemon and salt to taste

Way of doing:
Place the ingredients in a salad bowl and season. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings
Calories per serving: 41

Oriental chicken with cabbage

Ingredients:

2 col. (soup) olive oil 1 col. (soup) peeled ginger cut into thin strips 4 chicken fillets cut into cubes 4 col. (soup) shoyu (soy sauce) 1 medium onion, cut into thin slices 8 cabbage leaves, cut into thin strips

Way of doing:

In a pan, heat half the oil and brown the ginger. Remove the ginger and set aside. In the same pan, heat the remaining oil and brown the chicken. Add the soy sauce and onion and sauté until soft. Add the kale and ginger, mix, cover and turn off the heat. Keep the pot closed until the kale is completely wilted. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings
Calories per serving: 184

Kale Juice with Orange and Ginger

Ingredients:

3 torn cabbage leaves (well washed and with stalks) 2 oranges, peeled 1 piece of peeled ginger (1 cm) Sweetener to taste 1 liter of water

Way of doing:

Cut the oranges into pieces, remove the seeds and put them in a blender. Add the cabbage, ginger, water and beat well. Strain, sweeten with sweetener and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings
Calories per serving: 25

Calories calculated by nutritionist Julyanna Célico, from Clínica Nuclehun, in São José do Rio Preto (SP). In cabbage juice, they were calculated by Beto Isaac, owner of the Arabesco restaurant, in São Paulo.

Natural reserve

Nutritious properties are best preserved in the raw leaf. In natura, cabbage goes well in salads (sliced ​​very thinly) and in juices (blended with fruit). As the vegetable turns yellow quickly – it lasts three (at most four) days in the fridge – nutritionist Denise Madi teaches you how to make frozen cabbage “pulp”:

1. Put a whole bunch (including the stalks) of well-washed and preferably organic kale in a blender or juicer.

2. Add some filtered water and beat until you form a thick broth.

3. Strain, distribute in ice cube trays and place in the freezer.

4. After freezing, protect the pan with plastic wrap.

Use one or two frozen kale cubes a day to prepare your juice. Beat or dissolve in the juice of your choice (apple, melon or passion fruit).

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