Kale Nutrients - The Health benefits of Kale

I’d like to tell you about Kale nutrients and the health benefits of kale.

First, and most importantly, kale has a unique ability. When it is chopped, or chewed, the wonderful and mysterious kale forms a substance called sulforaphane. This substance causes the liver to make special enzymes that detox the chemicals that cause cancer.

Hard to believe, but true! When scientists cause animals in lab studies to get breast cancer, sulforaphane inhibits these breast cancers. It increases apoptosis in colon cancer cells. This means the cancer cells literally commit suicide.

This is very happy news because cancer cells are like little evil zombies that spread around our bodies, making more zombies as they go. Normal cells have a certain life cycle, where they live and they die on a pre-planned schedule. But these rogue cells go around gobbling up good cells, and creating more cancerous cells as they go.

Sulforaphane not only causes apoptosis in cancer cells, but it gives people with genes that are susceptible to colon cancer a special get-out-of-jail-free card. It helps to protect those people from even getting colon cancer.

Now, how about this for an added bonus? Kale also has large supplies of a flavonoid named maempferol, which has the same sort of benefit for women who are at risk of getting ovarian cancer. Maempferol reduces that risk!

Kale nutrients list

Is kale on your menu yet? Has it made the list? Well there is a long list of kale nutrients that should persuade you. Kale is a member of the brassica family, populated by such notoriously healthy members as broccoli, cabbage, mustard, collards, Brussels sprouts, turnip greens and kohlrabi. One cup of chopped kale contains only 36 calories, but oh what powerful calories those are! Nutrients abound in that one cup of food at an astounding rate.

Other research has shown that phytonutrients are a type of antioxidant that disable free radicals so they can’t damage cell membranes, fat containing molecules, or our DNA. Kale and other leafy green vegetables contain phytonutrients that do those duties, but much, much more.

Phytonutrients anyone?

The phytonutrients in kale cause us to produce enzymes that are important in the detox process. This helps our bodies to cleanse and remove toxins.

All cruciferous vegetables (brassicas) have powerful detox properties. Many organs benefit from the detox properties of kale, including the skin, the lungs, the reproductive organs, the liver and the colon.

Kale is a bitter green, which makes it especially beneficial to the liver. It helps the liver to produce bile, which in turn helps you to digest your food better.

Kale nutrients also include carotenoids, those special substances that work to protect your eyes from damage when exposed to ultraviolet light. Inside that single cup of kale, your eyes will find a healthy dose of lutein and zeaxanthin. How’s that for an eye-opening fact?

How about that Chlorophyll?

So then, let’s talk about chlorophyll. You got it! Kale nutrients include chlorophyll too. And if you want to detox, be absolutely certain to include leafy greens like kale, for their chlorophyll.

The detox benefits of chlorophyll alone make this one of the MVPs of kale nutrients. Here’s another of those nutrients that help the liver to detox the body.

And chlorophyll will pick up those toxins such as heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, and other toxins, and usher them right out of the body via the colon. Talk about good news! When somebody tells you that you can’t do anything to help the body to detox, hand them that little bit of green trivia.

Vitamins and Minerals too?

But what about all those nifty vitamins and minerals literally stuffed inside of that lowly cup of kale? Well, there’s vitamin A, C, E, B6, folate, calcium, manganese, iron and zinc.

• Consider the calcium in kale, one of those kale nutrients that make it a handy food for the vegetarian. Kale is a very important player when it comes to calcium because the vitamin C content in kale assists in the absorption of that calcium. That makes it a very powerful calcium source. There’s 9% of your daily supply of calcium in that cup of kale.
• And the vitamin C? You get 134% of your daily vitamin C in kale. Wow! Did I say wow!?! And vitamin C is so important for your immune system. Throw that at a cold and see how fast you get to feeling better.
• Next, let’s talk about vitamin A in kale. You get a whopping 206% of your daily needs of vitamin A in kale. Now is that cool, or what?
• Vitamin A helps to detox the lungs of the chemicals in cigarette smoke. You can reduce your risk of emphysema by getting your vitamin A in kale, even if you do smoke.
• And if you take into consideration the zinc in kale, you get a double-whammy. Vitamin A and zinc work together to fight toxins and help your immune system to work better. They help the immune system to make white blood cells. That’s why the vitamin C is so important in the prevention of infections, and viruses.
• Then, you get 1327% of your daily needs of vitamin K, 6 % of iron, and 27% of manganese. Manganese is an important nutrient for the formation of strong bones, a healthy nervous system and helps in the functioning of the thyroid gland. That’s a strong indication that it is an important food for those wishing to lose weight. It helps you to produce energy from protein and carbs also.

So when you want a super-powerful detox punch, look no further than the emerald green, curly and fun leaves of kale. Kale nutrients are some of the best you’ll find anywhere.