Why Kale should be Lightly Cooked
Nowadays, kale seems to be the hottest food fashion. With juices and kale chips hitting
the stores, the vegetable has become even more popular than broccoli.
The good news about this fad is that kale is, indeed, packed with a bunch of good stuff:
fiber, potassium, vitamin C and B6, antioxidants, and more – everything you want from
a superfood! And, when eaten in proper volumes, it has great benefits for your health.
However, the not-so-good news for the avid kale-eaters out there is that consuming too
much raw kale can actually be pretty hard the body.
- First, kale can be difficult on the digestive system. Because it contains a very high amount of fiber as well as a sugar called raffinose (which our bodies don’t break down well).
- Second, raw kale may actually have a detrimental effect on your body’s metabolism. Long story short, this is because kale has small amounts of compounds that hat can lead to a ‘goitrogenic’ effect, which essentially means that they can worsen function of the thyroid gland, which is responsible for regulating metabolism.
Not to worry! There are methods to prepare kale that preserve its wonderful health
benefits but get rid of the issues. The best method: cooking lightly.
When you cook kale, you make it easier on the digestive system and get rid of the
compounds that may be getting in the way of a healthy metabolism. Issue solved! Why
cook lightly? Because that retains all of the vitamins and minerals…and, let’s face it, it
tastes much better than that mushy overcooked stuff.
So, here you go: I’m sharing with you my favorite kale recipe – to your health!
Kale-Pomegranate Salad
Will be a delicious side for your meat, chicken, fish or beans
