Eat more arugula

Poorly known and consumed for many years, arugula won a place in many dishes. In addition to make the dish look better

Lettuce is the most popular ingredient used in salads, remember to add arugula. With this small gesture you can make your salads much more powerful. Arugula belongs to the Brassicaceae family of vegetables, sharing the same amazing properties of other vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, spinach or Brussels cabbages. These plants are especially important in our diet because they are rich in sulforaphane, a very powerful Phytonutrient able to stimulate genes with anti carcinogenic properties that help fighting these cells.

They are still rich in acid Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) that is activated by stomach acid, able to neutralize tumor cells from cancers such as breast, colon and liver. Studies made pointed out that I3C has a great potential to prevent and treat of these cancers.

As if these were not enough reasons to include this tasty, slightly spicy vegetable in your food, the arugula is still rich in vitamins, such as vitamin A and C, which are antioxidants that combat free radicals and stimulate our immune system, and in minerals such as potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and calcium. It also contains, although in smaller amounts, other important nutrients such as iron or manganese.

Know that this vegetable contains eight times more calcium than normal lettuce as well as vitamin K, vital for a proper absorption of this mineral by the body. Because it is rich in B-complex vitamins, especially in folate, a natural form of folic acid, which contains high doses, arugula can be very beneficial to the cognitive functions of the adult brain, since low levels of folate in the body may be associated with a greater mental decline.

A significant fact is that this vegetable is low in oxalate. Other members of its family, such as spinach, are also rich in this compound, when present in the foods at high doses inhibits the absorption of minerals in the body.