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Discover why everyone s talking about this nutritious leafy green.
Kale may well be the "it" vegetable of the moment, celebrated in everything from cooking magazines to health websites. But unlike some food fads, this nutritious leafy green deserves the attention it's suddenly getting: With a mere 36 calories, one cup of kale delivers five grams of fiber, 200% of your daily vitamin C, 180% of vitamin A and Í 40% of magnesium. It's packed with at least 45 antioxidant fiavonoids. Like its cruciferous-vegetable kin, including broccoli and cauliflower, it contains glucosinolates-sulfur compounds associated with reduced risk of cancer.
But where kale really shines is its content of the important yet often-overlooked vitamin K, with more than 10 times the daily value. Sarah L Booth, PhD, director of Tufts' HNRCA Vitamin Κ Laboratory, says, "Among the emerging functions we're discovering for vitamin Κ are bone health, cardiovascular health, reducing inflammation, cognitive health and reducing risk for diabetes. All these functions are still exploratory, however."
Kale, Booth notes, is unusually rich in one of the two main dietary forms of the vitamin, phylloquinone (vitamin Kl). "A cup of fresh kale contains 215 micrograms of vitamin K," she says. That's more than any other vegetable except collard greens.
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