Table of contents:
- What is kale?
- Kale and breast cancer
- Good for heart health
- Maintain eye health
- The calcium contained in kale is better than milk
- How to cook kale?
Have you ever eaten kale? If not, from now on try to eat it, because kale leaves have a very high nutritional content and are beneficial for the body.
What is kale?
Kale is a type of green leafy vegetable that belongs to the cabbage family such as broccoli, cauliflower, and mustard greens. Like other siblings, kale contains various vitamins and minerals that are good for the body. One glass of raw kale contains 33 calories, 3 grams of protein, 2.5 grams of fiber which helps digestion, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, folic acid and B vitamins which are important for brain development, alpha-linolenic acid and omega-fats. 3 which are good for heart health, lutein, zeaxantin, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and zinc. There are various types of kale, there are kale with curly leaves, kale with flat leaves, or even kale which is bluish green and each type of kale has a different taste.
Kale and breast cancer
Breast cancer is the second cause of death in women in the world, there are at least one in 8 women who suffer from breast cancer. Kale contains a substance called sulforaphane. This substance is an antioxidant and a simulator of detoxification enzymes. Sulforaphane is said to inhibit cancer growth in breast cancer. A study conducted in 2010 showed that sulforaphane was successful in reducing active cancer cells in breast cancer sufferers by 65 to 80 percent.
Good for heart health
Vitamin K contained in kale turns out to meet about 680 percent of vitamin K needs in one day. If you cook kale by boiling it and not adding salt during the cooking process, the vitamin K value in kale increases by up to 1300 percent. Research conducted for 10 years on 4,500 adult patients, proves that there is a reduced risk of death in heart disease patients if you are given extra vitamin K supplementation. However, if you are taking blood thinning drugs, such as warfarin, you should consult your doctor how much vitamin K which is recommended for consumption.
Maintain eye health
In addition to being high in vitamin K, kale also contains high vitamin K, namely one glass of raw kale contains 6,600 IU, where the Ministry of Health recommends consuming 2400 IU of vitamin A per day for adults. Vitamin A is known to be very good for eye health, boosts the immune system, and plays a role in cell formation. Research conducted at the National Institute of Health states that people who eat foods rich in vitamin A regularly will avoid the risk of developing various eye diseases and maintain vision abilities. In addition, kale has various types of colors such as green, white, purple, and bluish green which are caused by lutein and this substance is good for maintaining eye function.
The calcium contained in kale is better than milk
Do you like to consume milk? Try to look at the amount of calcium in the milk packaging that you often consume. The average milk has only 1.13 mg of calcium per gram, while one gram of raw kale has 1.35 mg of calcium. In addition, there are differences in the quality of calcium in kale and the calcium in milk. Milk contains casein protein which is difficult for the body to digest, therefore it is not impossible if the calcium in milk is not absorbed properly. Calcium absorbed from milk is only about 30%, while calcium absorbed from kale or broccoli reaches 40 to 60 percent.
One glass of kale contains 101 mg of calcium, not many vegetables have a high calcium content like kale. Like the results of research which states that people who do a vegan diet have a 30% higher risk of fractures because their bones are brittle, compared to people who eat meat. This shows that the group of vegans is deficient in calcium and causes a bad impact on bone health, because the average vegetable does not have high calcium. Therefore, consuming kale regularly can improve bone health.
How to cook kale?
You can cook kale by sautéing it or making a kale salad. Or you can make a healthy snack, namely kale chips by removing the kale roots from the stems, cutting them according to taste, sauteing with a little salt and pepper. then bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.
