Parsley is more than just a garnish for dishes. It may not taste as good as other herbs in your pantry, but if you look closely, you’ll discover many qualities that are beneficial to your health. This plant is typical of the Mediterranean region Basque chef Karlos Arguiñano is one of the greatest ambassadors in our kitchens and is known for finishing all his dishes with fresh twigs. One of the many benefits of parsley is that it goes with just about everything.
If you pick up parsley with two fingers and place it on the edge of your plate before you start wolfing down the food on your plate, think again. This ingredient does contain nutrients, and luckily, they’re all healthy and fun. According to the Spanish Nutrition Foundation (FEN), parsley is a source of vegetable protein, fiber, calcium, iron, potassium, vitamin A, folate, thiamine, flavonoids, myristin and apiol. If we consider that parsley provides very few calories, it is a very nutrient-dense food.
Anyway, there are two problems with this food: the first is that the proportion of food we put on our plates is very small, and the second is that most of us buy dry canned food in supermarkets: “Fresh parsley has more character and flavor than dried parsley. In fact, it can easily lose its identity. Therefore, if you have fresh parsley, it is recommended to freeze it to preserve its nutritional properties,” explains FEN.
Vitamin C
In fresh parsley we also find one of our most familiar vitamins: C. This vitamin is welcome every time we have a cold, and we know it’s also found in citrus fruits, but in greater abundance in this green parsley. There are more herbs than we tend to miss. To be more precise, cilantro contains 133 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams. Food; Oranges, known to be rich in this vitamin, have only 53 milligrams in the same weight.
That said, parsley has almost three times the amount of this vitamin, but what does it do? This vitamin, probably because it’s so popular, has a lot of misconceptions about its benefits.In fact, it helps us properly produce collagen, which is necessary for maintaining good health The functions of blood vessels, bones, cartilage, gums, teeth, and of course, the skin. But beyond that, it’s an antioxidant that protects cells and maintains a healthy nervous system.
(Here’s what happens to your body if you eat parsley every day)
“The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recognizes the fundamental role of vitamin C in reducing tiredness and tiredness. Furthermore, whenever consumed, vitamin C also contributes to the normal functioning of the immune system, especially during and after strenuous physical activity . In addition to recommended intake, take 200 mg of vitamin C daily. From age 18, EFSA recommends a daily intake of 110 mg for men and 95 mg for women.”, explains this article in El Español.
Myths and Truths
But can it really cure a cold?Unfortunately, this is a very common myth, and after conducting research on this, the Cochrane website states: “The failure of vitamin C supplements to reduce the incidence of colds in the general population suggests that It is not reasonable to take them regularly. “ This myth was coined by Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling. In 1970, he published his book Vitamin C and the common coldbut over time his arguments have been surpassed.
However, vitamin C does have another surprising effect, helping us absorb more iron from our food. “The body uses iron to make hemoglobin. A protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to different parts of the body, in addition to myoglobin, a protein that provides oxygen to muscles. The body also needs iron to make hormones and connective tissue,” explains the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which also recognizes iron’s role in hormone formation.
Iron can come from animal or plant sources.We’ve all heard that lentils are rich in this mineral, but The body actually absorbs very small amounts of it. The reason this happens is that while the iron molecules in meat are protected by hemoglobin particles, the iron in vegetables is more exposed to substances in the digestive system, which neutralizes it. In this sense, vitamin C protects this iron and helps it absorb more iron. Therefore, it is recommended to eat citrus fruits with a plate of lentils.