Health benefits of kale

Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables you can include in your diet, so it's no wonder it's called a superfood. Read on to learn why you won't want to leave this curly vegetable out of your regular diet.

A member of the cabbage family, kale looks like collards but with curly leaves. It is a hardy autumn vegetable that grows best in a cool ­climate; in fact, exposure to frost actually improves its flavour.

Although the types of kale that form leafy red, yellow and purple heads are used more often for decorative purposes (both in the garden and on the table) than as a food, all varieties are edible and highly nutritious.Kale — like its relatives in the cabbage family — is an excellent source of vitamin C and beta carotene, which the human body converts to vitamin A; in fact, a 250 millilitre (one cup) serving of cooked kale contains almost a day's supply of vitamin A and well over 50 percent of the daily requirement of vitamin C.

Other nutrients found in a 250 millilitre (one cup) serving of kale include 20 micrograms of folate, 100 milligrams of calcium, one milligram of iron and 310 milligrams of potassium. It also provides more than one gram of fibre and has only 50 calories.

Yet it is filling, making kale an ideal, highly nutritious food for anyone who is weight-conscious.In addition, kale contains more iron and calcium than almost any other vegetable; its high vitamin C content en­hances the body's ability to absorb these minerals. Serving kale with a lemon dressing or in the same meal as another acidic citrus fruit further boosts absorption of the iron and calcium.

Bioflavonoids, carotenoids and other cancer-fighting compounds are abundant in kale. It also contains indoles, compounds that can lessen the cancer-causing potential of estrogen and induce production of enzymes that protect against disease.

• The typical way of preparing kale is to cook it.
• To preserve its rich stores of beta carotene and vitamin C, cook kale quickly in minimal water; it can be steamed, chopped and stir-fried with other vegetables, or simmered until tender in broth to make a tasty soup.
• Kale shrinks considerably during cooking; it takes about 750 millilitres (three cups) of raw greens to make a 250 millilitre (one cup) serving.
• Even cooked, kale produces gas in some people.