Antioxidant Foods

Archive for the ‘Antioxidant Vegetables’ Category

One of the oldest, most nutritious, antioxidant rich vegetables is kale. Known since the dawning of man, it comes from Africa. It was better known and used in Grecian and Roman times than present.  It is easily found in grocery stores but the quantity is always small. It is from the cruciferous family.

Kale is extremely easy to grow and can tolerate very cool temperatures.  Some say, it tastes better and sweeter when hit by a light frost. It’s popularity may be low but its nutrient value is high.  It has more than 1000% of daily value of Vitamin K, 190% of vitamin A and for a vegetable is high in omega 3′s. See below.

Many people prize kale not as a vegetable but as a flower. The dark green leaves of this vegetable are extremely beautiful and it has very colorful flowers when in bloom. The flowers can make a great fall display giving much needed color to the traditional fall flower displays.

Kale Nutrients
• Vitamin K (Very high %DV over a 1000%)
• Lots of carotenoids (antioxidant)
• Vitamin A (190 %DV)
• Vitamin E & C (antioxidants) (Vitamin C 80% DV)
• Vitamin B-1, B-2, B-3,and Folate
• Manganese, copper, calcium. potassium, iron, magnesium and phosphorus
• Omega 3 fatty acids
• Protein ( 7% of DV) Very high for vegetables
• Tryptophan

Health Benefits
• Lessens occurrence of cancers (100’s of studies done worldwide)
• Antioxidant for free radical protection
• High in glucosinolates. (anti-carcinogens)
• Excellent known cell detoxifier
• Lowers cataract risk
• Promotes lung health
• Protects against arthritis
• Slows loss of mental function.

Study Briefs
• Rutgers study shows lower risk of colon cancer
• Various studies show reduced cancer risk with consumption of cruciferous vegetables
• Nurses study showed eating fruit and vegetables containing kaempferol rich food like kale gave a 40% reduced ovarian cancer risk. Also present in green tea, onions, broccoli, spinach, leeks and blueberries)
• Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center shows men who eat 28 servings of vegetables a week reduce prostate cancer risk by 35% but those consuming 3 or more servings of cruciferous vegetables reduce risk by 44%
• A Netherlands study shows those eating the most vegetables had a 25% lower risk of colorectal cancers, but those eating the most cruciferous vegetables did almost twice as well with a 49% drop in their colorectal cancer risk.
• In Singapore a city known for high pollution showed eating cruciferous vegetables found non-smokers reduced their lung cancer risk by 30%. Smokers reduced their risk by a whooping 69%.

See your mother was right, eat your vegetables and you can reduce your cancer risk significantly. Cancer is the number 2 Killer in the world. The drug and medical research industries  have spent billions of dollars and 50 years and cancer is on the upswing. an cancer risk and therefore the disease itself be reduced or possibly eliminated by increasing your vegetable intake.  The answer is yes and if you eat organic it will help you even more. If you can not eat the 28 to thirty servings a week try our super greens formula to augment your vegetable intake. Our greens formulas all  have kale and other cruciferous vegetables for the utmost is nutrition. The cost is minimal the risk for not doing so is high. Cancer is no fun.