Chard its beneficial properties-2

Chard Properties

Has numerous medicinal and food applications,for being refreshing, digestive, laxative and diuretic. By its low energetic value provides an opportunity to prepare vegetable dishes, especially recommended for those who following a thinning diet.

For its excellent folates content, is a cornerstone in the pregnant woman nutrition. For its fiber richness has laxative properties, which prevents or improves constipation. Because of its abundant water content and potassium, is a diuretic, which is beneficial in a number of conditions, such as hypertension , fluid retention and oliguria ( scantiness of urine).


In the chard highlights the presence of oxalic acid, which has the ability to form in the intestine a complex with minerals such as calcium and iron which prevents its absorption.


This same substance is responsible that the chard is recommended to consume with moderation to those who have a tendency to form kidney stones, arthritis. However, to form oxalate stones the amount of the substance ingested must be considerable, and further the most of oxalic acid is removed by discarding the cooking water of this vegetable.


Deficiency in iron or acid is associated with different types of anemia. In the chard these nutrients protrude, which makes it interesting for inclusion in anemia  cases. If eaten raw in salads, its natural content of vitamin C enhances the absorption of iron.


Furthemore:
• High in potassium and calcium , sodium, magnesium and iodine.

• Source of vitamin A ( beta -carotene ) and high in folic acid, niacin and vitamin C or ascorbic acid.

• Chard is a food of high nutritional value and low caloric intake.

• It is an excellent supply of fiber.


How to eat it
Chard can be cooked in two parts : first the leaves, which are prepared in a similar way to spinach, and secondly, the stalk, that you can skip and fill with ham and shrimp. If the leaves are left to cool, can be consumed as an ingredient in salads.


Another option is Swiss chard omelet, with the most tender leaves and stalks, with ham and potato. The most common way to eat it is boiled alone or with carrot and potato and seasoned with oil.


Cooked in pressure cooker or steam ensures that  most vitamins and minerals are exploited. And if you choose to boil it , it is advisable to consume the cooking broth or use it in other culinary preparations (unless due the care about potassium and oxalic acid intake ).

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Chard its beneficial properties-1

Chard Properties

Chard is a herbaceous plant of the family Chenopodiaceae, with bright green leaves and white and fleshy petioles, called stalks.

Form small and woody roots. The edible part of the chard is the leaf petiole and the veined central, thickened and fleshy of the leaf.

Its origin is Asian, are consumed since ancient times, because the Assyrians  had cultivated them in 800 a. C. There are documents that prove that in the V century BC the Greeks used the chard as a food in their diet. The Romans prepared them in soups along with other vegetables.


Varieties
The number of cultivated varieties is very low. Their classification is set based on the color, the size of its leaves and petioles or stalks and the thickness of the stalk .The best known, cultivated and appreciated for its quality and taste are:


• Yellow Lyon: large leaves,wavy, yellowish green and white,stalk white and highly developed with a width of up to 10cm. Are the most commonly traded.

• Green with white stalk bressane : very wavy leaves, dark green and very white stalks and broad, with a width of 15cm.


Nutritional properties
It is a vegetable with a small amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, since the greater weight is due to its high water content.Therefore turns out a less energetic vegetable, although it is a nutrient rich in food regulators, such as certain vitamins, minerals and fiber. Its outer leaves contain the highest amount of vitamins.


Chard (Beta vulgaris) plants are rich in soluble fiber in the form of mucilage, which promote the intestinal transit, improve hemorrhoid problems, and are involved in the cholesterol prevention and the clearance of toxic elements from the intestine, which could be responsible for diseases such as cancer.


In the chard, the most abundant mineral is potassium. However, this vegetable is notable for its higher magnesium content, sodium, iodine , iron and calcium.


Potassium is necessary for the generation and transmission of nerve impulses to the normal muscular activity. Also involved in the water balance inside and outside of the cell.


Magnesium is related to the functioning of the bowel, nerves and muscles, is part of bones and teeth, enhances immunity and has a mild laxative effect.


Iodine is an essential mineral for the proper functioning of the thyroid gland, which produces thyroid hormones. They are involved in many metabolic functions, such as maintaining body temperature and metabolism. Also iodine is essential for fetal growth and brain development.

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