Superfood

Through this journey from a sedentary bad eater to a clean eating guy who likes to exercise I have only found one food that gives an immediate healthy feeling the minute you eat it and that is kale.

I was like everyone else before who would have never invested any time into including kale in my diet, but since I began eating cleaner the evidence always suggested that kale was the number one food to have in your clean diet.

For us, kale was an easy transition in juices as we started with spinach. The tougher part was to find other uses as well. Since I am also avoiding as much fried food as possible a well the kale chips and other "chip" type dishes didn't interest me. I was looking for ways that would preserve as many of the micro-nutrients as possible.

I have switched to using kale as the greens for my salads. I realize that not everyone is ready to go there so I have some other uses that you should like that are easy as well, but first the reasons why.

Health Benefits of Kale

Kale is a very versatile and nutritious green leafy vegetable. It is a widely popular vegetable since ancient Greek and Roman times for its low fat, no cholesterol but health benefiting anti-oxidant properties.

Kale, like other members of the Brassica family, contains health-promoting phytochemicals, sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinolthat appear to protect against prostate and colon cancers.

Di-indolyl-methane(DIM), a metabolite of indole-3-carbinolis an effective immune modulator, anti-bacterial and anti-viral agent through its action of potentiating "Interferon-Gamma" receptors.

Borecole is very rich source of ß-carotene,luteinand zea-xanthin. These flavonoids have strong anti-oxidant and anti-cancer activities. Beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A in the body.

Zea-xanthin, an important dietary carotenoid, is selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea in the eyes where it is thought to provide antioxidant and protective light-filtering functions. Thus, it helps prevent retinal detachment and offer protection against "age-related macular degeneration related macular degeneration disease" (ARMD) in the elderly.

It is very rich in vitamin A, 100 g leaves provide 512% of RDA. Vitamin A is required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin and is essential for vision. Foods rich in this vitamin are known to offer protection against lung and oral cavity cancers.

It is one of the excellent vegetable sources for vitamin-K; 100 g provides about 700% of recommended intake. Vitamin K has potential role bone health by promoting osteotrophic (bone formation and strengthening) activity. Adequate vitamin-K levels in the diet help limiting neuronal damage in the brain; thus, has established role in the treatment of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

100 g of fresh leaves contain 120 mg or 200% of daily-recommended levels of vitamin C. Scottish curly leaf variety yet has more of this vitamin, 130 mg/100g. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant, which helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen-free radicals.

This leafy vegetable is notably good in many B-complex groups of vitamins such as niacin, vitamin B-6(pyridoxine), thiamin, pantothenic acid, etc., that are essential for substrate metabolism in the body.

It is also rich source of minerals like copper, calcium, sodium, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure by countering effects of sodium. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme,superoxide dismutase.Ironis required for cellular oxidation and red blood cell formation.

 

Kale provides rich nutrition ingredients that offer protection from vitamin A deficiency, osteoporosis, iron-deficiency anemia, and believed to protect from cardiovascular diseases and colon and prostate cancers.

So here are some easy ways to include it in your diet.

1. As salad greens.
2. Wilted in olive oil and a little water or water and vinegar mix. Ready to eat in 10 minutes.
3. Steamed - depending on the kale you use 5-10 minutes and the kale is tender and easy to eat.
4. In a smoothie.
5. In a juice.
6. In a stir fry
7. In a soup
8. Kale chips

I like the steamed kale with fried rice or a stir fry on top. The wilted kale is perfect as a side to a Southern meal like Red Beans and Rice or Jambalaya. Green smoothies are all the rage these days. I have seen some great sounding recipes for smoothies with pineapple and kale. We use kale in a juice that we  have in the afternoon that has green apple, pear, fennel, lemon, cucumber and ginger. It is an instant jolt of energy that lasts all afternoon.

3 ounces of kale has 35 calories and provides 2 grams each of fiber and protein. It also is 110% of your daily vitamin C, 20% of vitamin A, 15% of calcium, 6% of iron, 11% of your potassium and tons of micro-nutrients and phyto-chemicals.

Did I mention this stuff grows year round in the Northwest? Otherwise, they have Organic Baby Kales at Costco.

Get some more kale in your life. Be very well and more soon....