benefits of collard

Collard greens are also great for your skin because they are packed full of vitamin A, a nutrient required for sebum production that keeps hair moisturized. Vitamin A is also necessary for the growth of all bodily tissues, including skin and hair.

The choline in collard greens is an important nutrient that helps with sleep, muscle movement, learning and memory. Choline also helps to maintain the structure of cellular membranes, aids in the transmission of nerve impulses, assists in the absorption of fat and reduces chronic inflammation.6 Folate, also found in choline, may help with depression by preventing an excess of homocysteine from forming in the body, which can prevent blood and other nutrients from reaching the brain. Excess homocysteine interferes with the production of the feel good hormones serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, which regulate not only mood, but also sleep and appetite as well.

Remove the ribs from the collard greens and toss in extra virgin olive oil or lightly spray and sprinkle with your choice or a combination of cumin, curry powder, chili powder, roasted red pepper flakes or garlic powder. Bake at 275 degrees F for 15 30 minutes to desired crispness.

Unlike broccoli and kale and cabbage, you wont find many research studies devoted to the specific health benefits of collard greens. However, collard greens are sometimes included in a longer list of cruciferous vegetables that are lumped together and examined for the health benefits they provide. Based on a very small number of studies looking specifically at collard greens, and a larger number of studies looking at cruciferous vegetables as a group (and including collard greens on the list of vegetables studied), cancer prevention appears to be a standout area for collard greens with respect to their health benefits.

The detox support provided by collard greens includes antioxidant nutrients to boost Phase 1 detoxification activities and sulfur containing nutrients to boost Phase 2 activities. Collard greens also contain phytonutrients called glucosinolates that can help activate detoxification enzymes and regulate their activity. Four key glucosinolates that have been clearly identified in collard greens in significant amounts are glucobrassicin, glucoraphanin, gluconasturtiian, and glucotropaeolin.

As an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin A (in the form of carotenoids), and manganese, and a good source of vitamin E, collard greens provide us with 4 core conventional antioxidants. But the antioxidant support provided by collard greens extends far beyond the conventional nutrients into the realm of phytonutrients. Caffeic acid, ferulic acid, quercetin, and kaempferol are among the key antioxidant phytonutrients provided by collard greens. This broad spectrum antioxidant support helps lower the risk of oxidative stress in our cells. Chronic oxidative stress meaning chronic presence over overly reactive oxygen containing molecules and cumulative damage to our cells by these molecules is a risk factor for development of most cancer types. By providing us with such a great array of antioxidant nutrients, collard greens help lower our cancer risk by helping us avoid chronic and unwanted oxidative stress.

As an excellent source of vitamin K and a good source of omega 3 fatty acids (in the form of alpha linolenic acid, or ALA), collard greens provide us with two hallmark anti inflammatory nutrients. Vitamin K acts as a direct regulator of our inflammatory response, and ALA is the building block for several of the bodys most widely used families of anti inflammatory messaging molecules. In addition to these two anti inflammatory components, one of the glucosinolates found in collard greens glucobrassicin can be readily converted into an isothiocyanate molecule called I3C, or indole 3 carbinol (I3C). I3C is an anti inflammatory compound that can actually operate at the genetic level, and by doing so, prevent the initiation of inflammatory responses at a very early stage.

Researchers have looked at a variety of cardiovascular problems including heart attack, ischemic heart disease, and atherosclerosis and found preliminary evidence of an ability on the part of cruciferous vegetables to lower our risk of these health problems. Yet regardless of the specific cardiovascular problem, it is one particular type of cardiovascular benefit that has most interested researchers, and that benefit is the anti inflammatory nature of collard greens and their fellow cruciferous vegetables. Scientists have not always viewed cardiovascular problems as having a central inflammatory component, but the role of unwanted inflammation in creating problems for our blood vessels and circulation has become increasingly fundamental to an understanding of cardiovascular diseases. Of particular interest here has been the isothiocyanate (ITC) sulforaphane, which is made from glucoraphanin (a glucosinolate) found in collard greens. Not only does this ITC trigger anti inflammatory activity in our cardiovascular system, it may also be able to help prevent and even possibly help reverse blood vessel damage.

The fiber content of collard greens over 7 grams in every cup makes this cruciferous vegetable a natural choice for digestive system support. Yet the fiber content of collard greens is only one of their digestive support mechanisms. Researchers have determined that the sulforaphane made from a glucosinolate in collard greens (glucoraphanin) helps protect the health of our stomach lining by preventing bacterial overgrowth of Helicobacter pylori in our stomach or too much clinging by this bacterium to our stomach wall.

The anti inflammatory nature of glucosinolates/isothiocyanates and other nutrients found in collard greens has been the basis for new research on inflammation related health problems and the potential role of collard greens in their prevention. Current and potentially promising research is underway to examine the benefits of collard greens in relationship to our risk of the following inflammation related conditions: Crohns disease, inflammatory bowel disease, insulin resistance, irritable bowel syndrome, metabolic syndrome, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes, and ulcerative colitis.