Why Kale is so Fabulous

A lot of us have heard about how great kale is for your health, and that it’s a super food, but I wanted to write this blog to tell you *why* that’s the case.  I really believe knowledge is power, especially when it comes to health – you need to know why you’re eating what you’re eating!

1.  High in vitamins A, C, and K:  Kale is jam packed with vitamins, but it’s incredibly high in Vitamin A,C, and K.  In regards to recommended daily intake of vitamins (RDI), it contains  206% of your RDI of vitamin A, 134% of vitamin C, and 684% of vitamin K in a single serving!! And, because this a plant source of vitamins, there is no worry of overdosing on these vitamins.

2.  High in antioxidants:  Antioxidants are your body’s defense against cellular damage.  Imagine antioxidants as police officers and oxidative damage as criminals.  If you don’t have enough antioxidants in your diet, oxidative damage can wreak havoc on your body!  In addition to antioxidants like Vitamin C, and Vitamin A, kale has at least 45 different anti-oxidative compounds!

3.  High mineral content:  Kale is high in minerals, especially calcium and potassium.  A high potassium:sodium diet is protective against heart disease, and calcium is a component of healthy bones.

4.  Kale has anti-cancer/detoxifying compounds:  In particular, kale belongs to a group of vegetables called cruciferous vegetables.  These vegetables contain indole-3-carbinol, a compound that helps us metabolize excess estrogens.  This can have a direct impact on cancer risk (particularly estrogen-dependent breast cancer.)

So there you have it!  If you’re a kale newbie, or don’t like the taste of kale, I recommend you try preparing it in different ways.  At first, I found kale too overpowering in a salad, but delicious in soups, stews and curries.  Now, I like kale salad, but only when I have a salad dressing that’s on the sweeter side to offset kale’s robust personality.  (Whole Foods has a prepared Kale/beet salad with a sweet dressing that’s delicious!)