In case you haven’t heard, not all vegetables are created equal. Some veggies are quite tasty while others need a significant amount of either condiments and/or other foods to convince you to chew and swallow. There are vegetables which require great amounts of preparation and cooking time. On the other hand, some veggies may simply be rinsed off and consumed.Vegetables also vary in vitamin, mineral, and other nutrient contents. There is one in particular that should be getting your attention and should be in your refrigerator or freezer – kale.

Kale is a member of the cruciferous and Brassica vegetable families which includes collards, cabbage,  and Brussels sprouts. Unbeknownst to some, its leaves can be either green, white, or purple. The Dinosaur kale with the dark, blue-green leaves tend to have a less harsh, sweeter taste than the white or purple-leaved curly ones. Ornamental kale, which has more of a mellow flavor and tender texture, can be white, purple, or green in color. Curly kale is known to have a bitter, peppery quality with a kick, and is usually a deep green in hue.

One of the reasons why kale should have your attention is because of its health-promoting, sulfur containing phytonutrients. It is one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet, and rich in glucosinolates which the body converts into cancer preventing agents. Kale has twice the amount of vitamin K as any other cruciferous veggie, is an excellent source of manganese, copper, iron, vitamins A and C. Oh, and did I mention that the sulfur and glucosinolates in kale assist your body in detoxifying itself via removing toxins from the body? So have a green smoothie with kale as one of the main ingredients and improve your health by the sip.

As an anti-inflammatory agent, kale is one of the best. Kale naturally promotes the pro-anti-inflammatory  omega-6 and anti-inflammatory omega-3 balance which can be vital to counteract the negative effects many people experience when they consume omega-6 rich processed foods loaded with so-called “healthy” vegetable and/or canola oil. Chronic inflammatory pain, which is often the result of eating the aforementioned processed foods, has become widespread especially in the western world and linked to many diseases such as crohn’s, cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis. What are you waiting for? A simple alteration to your eating plan could have you feeling better in no time.

If you are a pregnant woman, kale can provide you, along with all its other benefits, a few special upsides. With it being a natural and valuable source of folate, kale can assist in the brain development of infants in the womb. In addition, kale can help prevent many birth defects and promotes healthy neural tube formation, proper development of the face and heart, and adequate birth weight. Kale, and other natural foods high in folate are excellent alternatives to folic acid supplementation, the synthetic version of folate, that doctors push on women of childbearing age that has been linked to epilepsy, lack of focus, emotional ups and downs, etc.

Kale has arrived on the scene to rave reviews and deservedly so. It’s one of the most nutrient dense foods in the world, assists the body in detoxification, helps prevent cancer, is a natural anti-inflammatory, and is highly beneficial to women of childbearing age due to it containing high amounts of folate and helping prevent  birth defects and promoting healthy brain development of infants in the womb amongst other things. With all this to its credit and more, it’s no wonder why kale has stormed onto the shelves in multiple form as it has. Now go grab some kale and add it to your plate, snack tray, and smoothie and reap the benefits.

 

~centerfield6

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