2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29
The chard is a leafy vegetable common in Mediterranean cuisine. It is especially popular in Italian food, including risotto and pizza. Swiss chard is perhaps the most famous, but there are varieties, including red and gold. No matter the color, this vegetable is easy to prepare and has many applications for human health.
What is chard?
Mongolia is also called spinach or leafy beets, but unlike beets, its roots are inedible. The green leaves have a grooved texture, they are thick and dense.
What is often observed in chard are its varieties. The stems of each variety are of different colors, covering the entire range - from white to purple. White, gold and red are the most common. Whether you eat it raw or cooked, chard is easy to prepare - wash it, remove the handles and serve.
It tastes similar to spinach, but it depends on how you prepare it.
The benefits of chard
Consumption of fruits and vegetables of all kinds is associated with reducing the risk of very adverse health conditions.
Studies show that the consumption of more plant foods like chard reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, increase energy and help weight loss.
Lowering blood pressure
It's proved that consumption of chard increases athletic performance. People whose diets are low in calcium, magnesium and potassium are more prone to high blood pressure.
These minerals are thought to lower blood pressure by releasing sodium from the body and helping the arteries to dilate. Taking these minerals in the form of supplements will not bring the same health benefits as consuming them in the diet.
Chard contains all three of these healthy minerals and can help a lot in health. It reduces blood pressure, inhibits platelet aggregation and improves endothelial dysfunction.
Fighting cancer
Chard contains chlorophyll, which may be effective in blocking cancer-causing heterocyclic amines generated by cooking foods at high temperatures.
Consumption of leafy vegetables and other high-chlorophyll vegetables, along with grilled meat, can prevent some of the carcinogenic effects of over-cooking meat.
Diabetes
Chard contains an antioxidant known as alpha lipoic acid. This has been shown to lower glucose levels, increase insulin sensitivity and prevent oxidative stress-induced changes in patients with diabetes.
Studies suggest that chard can also reduce symptoms of peripheral neuropathy or autonomic neuropathy in people with diabetes. It can also protect against retinopathy, damage to blood vessels.
Protects against osteoporosis
Adequate vitamin K intake can improve bone health. Vitamin K modifies the proteins in the bone matrix, improves the absorption of calcium and reduces the excretion of calcium in the urine. Low vitamin K intake is associated with a higher risk of bone fractures.
One way to increase vitamin K intake is by eating leafy vegetables such as chard, arugula and spinach.
Improves physical activity
Dietary nitrates have been shown to improve muscle oxygenation during exercise.
This suggests that higher nitrate intake may increase your physical activity and make you more resilient.
The beneficial effects of nitrates on the cardiovascular system mean that it can improve the quality of life of those with cardiovascular, respiratory or metabolic diseases.
Chard is a source of vitamin K
The good news is that this green is not only quick to cook and tastes good. Chard is also one of the healthiest vegetables of all. He has over 700 times the recommended daily requirement of vitamin K (helps bones accumulate calcium and blood to coagulate) and 200 times the recommended daily intake of vitamin A (good for vision and the immune system).
Supports the work of the circulatory system:
Chard is an excellent source of iron, which is vital for maintaining a healthy circulatory system. Vitamin K is key to healthy blood clotting and preventing bleeding. It is found in chard in significant quantities.
Regulation of blood sugar
Chard contains fiber and syringic acid, which are involved in regulating blood sugar levels by altering the rate at which sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream by the gut.
Improves brain health
In addition to strengthening bones, vitamin K, present in chard, is crucial for the proper functioning of the brain and nervous system, as it is essential for the formation of a protective layer around the nerves called the myelin sheath.
It has antioxidant properties
Chard plants are one of the most antioxidant-rich foods on the planet. Contains beta-carotene, vitamin E, vitamin C, zinc, lutein and zeaxanthin, quercetin, kaempferol and many other compounds to fight disease.
Strengthens hair
Chard is rich in biotin, a vitamin that promotes hair growth and strength. Vitamins A and C also help hair follicles produce sebum, which keeps hair and skin supple.
Improves eye health
Swiss chard plants contain large amounts of lutein, an antioxidant that is essential for eye health and can slow or prevent age-related macular degeneration.
How long is chard stored?
The bad news is that chard does not stay fresh long (about three days in the refrigerator in a perforated plastic bag) and tends to wither if you wash it before cooking.
Cooking chard
Chard can be used in all sorts of culinary experiments in the kitchen. Remove the green part of the leaves and grate. Stir and fry in butter, with turmeric, black pepper, grated fresh ginger and sprinkle with soy sauce.
You can use chard, along with pancetta, shallots and gruyere, to make an omelette with cheese.
It is very good with celery - chop a few sticks of celery and fry as above before adding the chard.
You can add young leaves, uncooked, in a diet salad.
May be we cook chard in many ways - the leaves can be cut and flavored raw in a salad, stewed with the stems or deteriorate in a spring stew. If you like kale or lettuce, you can replace them with chard in your next delicious green salad.
Chard salad
If you like cabbage salad, you will love this one chard salad. When sprinkled with a light lemon dressing and mixed with crumbs of garlic bread and parmesan, chard leaves become soft and oily.
Necessary products:
1 bunch of chard
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1½ cups crumbs of fresh bread
1 clove garlic, minced
sea salt to taste
chili flakes
1 lemon
¾ a glass of grated Parmesan (Grana Padano or Pecorino)
Wash and dry the chard and remove the stems from the leaves. Save the stems for other uses. Arrange several leaves on top of each other, roll them like a cigar and cut the cigar into thin slices. Repeat until all the leaves are torn. Place the leaves in a large bowl.
Heat a glass of olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring often, until crispy and golden brown (about 5 minutes). Be careful not to burn them!
Sprinkle with garlic, a pinch of salt and chili flakes and let them bake for another minute, then remove from the heat.
Squeeze the lemon in the bowl with chard. Add a few generous pinches of salt. Stir slowly and add a glass of olive oil.
Add the parmesan. Stir well. Sprinkle with toasted bread crumbs and serve immediately.
Potential risks of chard
People taking blood-thinning drugs should suddenly stop eating foods high in vitamin K. It plays a big role in blood clotting, so it can interfere with the effectiveness of blood thinners.
It is important to remember that it is the overall diet that is most important for disease prevention and good health.
It is better to eat a variety of foods than to focus on individual foods as the key to good health.
Recommended:
Mangold - The Unknown Cousin Of Spinach
Few people know what chard is - whether it is a vegetable or a fruit. It is also called spinach or beetroot. This is a vegetable from which only the leaves are used. They look like spinach, but cook more slowly. The stalks are used cooked like asparagus and cauliflower.
