• Home
  • About
    • About me
    • About Nutritionists
    • About this Site
    • Disclaimer
  • Your Kitchen Guide
    • Choosing Fruit & Veg
    • Kitchen Cupboard
    • Knife Skills
    • Cooking Measurements
  • Topics
    • Lifestyle & Dieting
    • Men’s Health
    • Nutrition & Mental Health
    • Sports & Exercise Nutrition
    • Nutrition & Physical Health
    • Vitamins, Minerals & Nutrients
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • RSS Feed

Search

it's about nutrition

Evidence-Based Look at Diets & Nutrition

November: Kale
Seasonal Picks

November: Kale

December 5, 2015
Share

Kale is a leafy green vegetable that belongs to the brassica family (also known as cruciferous vegetables), along with cabbage, broccoli, sprouts and cauliflower. These vegetables are widely hailed for their health-giving properties and recently have been crowned as “superfoods” by marketeers because they are particularly rich in a compound called glucosinolates. Kale has become the new trendy vegetable!

Key facts:

  • Only 28kcal per 100g
  • Good source of dietary fibre
  • Rich source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, calcium and iron
  • Good source of a wide range of other vitamin and minerals
  • High in protein quality (91%)

As kale does not have a tight leaf configuration, it is able to absorb more sunlight than many other brassicas and this reflects in its vitamin content.
Eating

Kale is versatile and can be chopped into stews and soups, added to stir fries, or served in lieu of cabbage for Sunday lunch. Baby leaves are sweeter and work really well in salads.

4 heaped tablespoons kale = 1 of your 5-a-day

What are glucosinolates?
Plants produce compounds that are widely believed to be their own natural defences against insects and other pests, and give the plant its bitter flavour. Scientists are researching these compounds for their health-giving properties, which in nutrition we call “phytochemicals”. Along with brassicas’ high level of vitamin C and A, glucosinolates are considered to have strong antioxidant properties that may be cancer-protecting, but their metabolites can be poisonous to many animals and have adverse effects to people with a goitre if consumed in high concentrated amounts (such as juicing).

Glucosinolates are composed of sulphur and nitrogen, and convert to sulphurophane during digestion. Sulphur has a distinctive smell, not unlike bad eggs, and sulphurophane is responsible for sprouts and other brassicas having their distinct room-clearing reputation. Many people avoid brassicas, beans, lentils and other “offensive” foods for fear of social embarrassment, but this shouldn’t be a problem if consumed in moderate amounts.

Seb Bowden
Seb Bowden

Seb is a writer and blogger of food and nutrition. He holds a bachelors and a masters degree in nutrition science, and has studied sports and exercise nutrition at postgraduate level. He specialises in plant-based nutrition and believes passionately that we can all live with a little less meat.

Share this:

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Post navigation

Have a healthy Christmas!
December: Celeriac

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Your details will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Advertisement

Most Read

  • Can Diet Cause Man-Boobs?Can Diet Cause Man-Boobs?
  • Caponata your way!Caponata your way!
  • MelonsMelons
  • Should Men Avoid Flax and Soya?Should Men Avoid Flax and Soya?
  • Vegetable PaellaVegetable Paella

Translate

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Google
Creative Commons Licence
It's About Nutrition by Seb Bowden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Cressida by LyraThemes.com
Share
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
%d bloggers like this: