Go Green With These 12 Health Benefits Of Eating Kale

Go Green With These 12 Health Benefits Of Eating Kale

We all know we should eat plenty of green vegetables. But there is one green vegetable above all others.

Kale is King!

Kale is a leaf cabbage that is loaded with nutrients and provides dozen of health benefits.

more: The 6 Best Foods That Burn Belly Fat Fast

Here are 12 surprising benefits of eating Kale.

The 12 Biggest Health Benefits Of Eating Kale

It’s Nutrient Dense

Kale is one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet that contains numerous vitamins that exceed the recommended daily allowance (rda).

A 100g serving of kale contains 200% rdaof Vitamin C, 300% rda of Vitamin A, and 1000% rda of Vitamin K.

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It also contains large amounts of vitamin B6, potassium, calcium, magnesium, cooper, omega-3 fatty acids, iron, and manganese.

It’s Low In Calories

A cup of kale contains only 36 calories and 3g of protein.
Talk about a bargain of nutrient packed benefits for low calories! Perfect for dieting.

High Fiber

A cup of kale contains 5grams of fiber.

Fiber is instrumental in helping you digest food to help with regularity and aids in weight loss.

According to the Institute of Medicine, women need 25 grams of fiber per day, and men need 38 grams per day.

A cup of kale goes a long way to help you reach that goal.

Anti-inflammatory Benefits

Given the high Omega-3 and vitamin C (ascorbic acid) content, these two can help reduce inflammation which is found in arthritis, autoimmune disorders and asthma.

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Improves Depression

Kale contains phytonutrients which are molecules that produce carotenoid which has been linked to uplifted mood.

The additional omega-3 acids are helpful for fighting symptoms of protein. The combination of protein, iron, folate, and B6 help create more serotonin and dopamine to elevate mood.

Anti-oxidants

Vitamin A and C are antioxidants and helps with reducing inflammation.

In fact, gram for gram, kale contains twice the vitamin C that in an orange.

More anti-oxidants helps counteract the damage caused by cell damage linked to cardiovascular disease or cancer

more: The Health Benefits Of Kale

Heart Support

The heart needs large amounts of anti-oxidants and Vitamin K and a type of Vitamin E to be heart-healthy.

Kale has even been shown to lower cholesterol in clinical studies and increases the hdl: ldl ratio by up to 27%! (hdl is the “good” cholesterol).

Healthy Babies

Medical professionals strongly recommend that women of childbearing age take folate supplements prior to pregnancy and throughout their pregnancy since folate is important in fetal development.

If there is decreased folate a fetus can develop neural tube defects and anemia.

Kale contains high levels of folate to provide the infant healthy neural tube formation, adequate birth weight proper development of the face and heart, and sufficient red blood cells.

Healthy vision

Kale contains lutein and zeaxanthin which have been show to prevent both macular degeneration and cataracts.

more: Eat These 26 Vitamin A Rich Foods For Healthy Eyes

Both of these compounds act as antioxidants in the eye to filter out the harmful high energy blue wavelengths of light so our eyes our protected.

Cancer Protection

The glucosinolate of kale breaks down during digestion in biologically active agents’ indoles, thiocyanates and isothiocyanate which prevent cancer cells from growing.

As of now they have been shown to reduce cancer growth in rats and mice, and protected against cancer of bladder, breast, colon, liver, lung and stomach.

More studies will be done to assess treatment in human cancer prevention.

more: This Is Your Brain On Kale

Lose weight

Kale is so low in calories but high in fiber that the bulk makes you feel full.

Eating plenty of low energy density foods has been shown to aid in weight loss.

Although there are no studies directly showing the effect of kale on weight loss, one can suggest that it would benefit in weight loss the same was as other low energy density foods.

Healthy bones and skin

The high content of calcium helps build stronger bones, and the vitamin K improves the calcium absorption so it can be used for bone growth.

more: The Top 12 Health & Nutritional Benefits Of Kale

Furthermore, the high levels of beta-carotene content will also keep your skin and hair moisturized.

In summary…

The Top Health Benefits Of Kale

  1. It’s nutrient dense
  2. It’s low calories
  3. It’s high in fiber
  4. It has anti-inflammatory benefits
  5. It improves depression
  6. It has tons of anti-oxidants
  7. It supports your heart
  8. It helps make healthy babies
  9. It helps promote healthy vision
  10. It can help prevent against types of cancer
  11. It can help you lose weight
  12. It promotes healthy skin and strong bones

health benefits of kale

Rajiv M Mallipudi, md, mhs is an internal medicine resident physician, personal trainer, athlete and author. He has over a decade of personal training experience and helped hundreds of clients of all levels achieve their weight loss and fitness goals. This inspired him to work as a clinical researcher at the nationally recognized, Johns Hopkins Hospital Weight Management Center. During medical school he and his classmates created the health and wellness organization, med fit, which provided personal training and nutrition counseling to the medical student body. In his spare time, Dr. Mallipudi enjoys playing ice hockey, dancing, and training for his next bodybuilding and powerlifting competitions. Dr. Mallipudi serves as a contributing writer for the Diet and Fitness sections.

disclaimer: Vixen Daily and its authors may offer health, fitness, nutritional advice but this is designed for educational and informational purposes only. All the information contained on Vixen Daily and its articles is not intended to constitute the practice of medicine. The information provided in articles on Vixen Daily should never be relied on, or used as a substitute or replacement for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Vixen Daily and its authors are not responsible for any actions or inaction, safety or liability on a User’s part based on the information that is presented in the Site. If you seek medical advice, speak to a health professional in person about your particular issues.

30 comments… add one
  • loretta February 20, 2018, 8:02 pm

    i love eating kale! glad to know that my favorite vegetable can improve digestion and reduce inflammation. what I love the most is how it can help lose weight.

  • naomi February 16, 2018, 2:30 pm

    i didn’t know kale has so much more to offer. i like this but i was clueless. thanks for sharing your knowledge.

  • cassandra February 15, 2018, 5:35 am

    eating vegetables has been a struggle for my kids. but once i decided i should be firm and i should set an example to them, i was determined and now we all enjoy a good healthy meal.

  • glenda February 13, 2018, 12:37 pm

    when i was pregnant, i was advised to eat more kale because of its folate content. i was told it will be very helpful for a child’s brain and overall development so i did. i’m glad i listened.

  • ciara February 12, 2018, 1:45 pm

    kale also helps in depression? this is such good news! i have friends who suffer from depression and i can share this to them.

  • evangeline February 12, 2018, 7:10 am

    i like kale and it’s nice to know it has this much health benefits. i can share this to my mom friends who struggle with other options for their families.

  • delilah January 23, 2018, 7:22 pm

    i love that it helps improve depression.

  • kiera September 26, 2017, 12:49 pm

    kale is the best! i love it and i use it with almost anything.

  • delaney September 7, 2017, 4:12 pm

    kale has been a part of my diet because it’s really low carb.

  • clarissa September 6, 2017, 4:50 pm

    i’ve learned about the benefits of kale and i can say, these are all true!

  • amari August 22, 2017, 11:58 pm

    i love everything about kale!

  • rio August 20, 2017, 7:14 pm

    this is just awesome to know. i don’t use kale as much, but now i definitely have reasons to.

  • kerri August 18, 2017, 11:29 am

    i love kale and it’s good to know there’s this much good things about it.

  • willa August 16, 2017, 3:15 pm

    wow, i’m gonna add kale to my new faves now!

  • emilia August 14, 2017, 9:10 am

    kale is one of the healthy options i now use with almost anything

  • belle August 6, 2017, 11:42 pm

    this is why i fell in love with kale. :)

  • olive July 31, 2017, 11:53 pm

    the reason why i loved kale is that it has antioxidants

  • riley July 30, 2017, 10:44 pm

    this is so awesome! thanks for sharing, i’ll start adding kale more often.

  • georgina July 26, 2017, 3:12 pm

    promotes healthy skin too? i’m totally IN!!

  • geneva July 23, 2017, 11:38 pm

    kale is indeed full of healthy benefits. this is discovered not long ago and since then, i try to add kale to almost anything

  • kale July 18, 2017, 10:49 pm

    i thought kale is just gonna be a fad. thanks for sharing its health benefits, i’ll try more recipes.

  • callie July 17, 2017, 11:33 pm

    i will start adding kale to my recipes now. thanks for sharing.

  • kamila July 16, 2017, 4:10 pm

    if this really helps in weight loss then i’m in! :)

  • evelyn July 13, 2017, 11:38 pm

    i love kale and all its benefits!

  • maya July 10, 2017, 7:00 pm

    i love that it’s also an anti oxidant

  • lizzy July 9, 2017, 1:16 pm

    it’s true that this aids in weight loss too.

  • alma July 6, 2017, 7:50 pm

    kale is also a superfood! just like all others, you can add it to anything

  • georgia July 5, 2017, 9:47 pm

    it’s true that it can prevent cancer too

  • selma July 4, 2017, 5:04 pm

    wow, this is amazing! i’m gonna start adding up kale to my recipes.

  • paula July 3, 2017, 5:27 pm

    i love kale! i even add it to my smoothie

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