Top 5 Health Benefits of Swiss Chard!

Swiss chard, also known as Roman Kale, silverbeet and strawberry spinach is a powerhouse of nutrition. Both pleasing to the eye and good for you, there are many reasons to include it in many more of your meals. With that in mind here are our Top 5 Health Benefits of Swiss Chard!

1. Vitamin Dense
A single 36g serving of Swiss Chard contains a mind-boggling 374% of your daily vitamin K needs. This vitamin, best known for its importance in effective blood clotting, has a number of important functions for  your body which also includes guaranteeing good bone health. Swiss Chard includes 44% of your Vitamin A and 18% of your Vitamin C RDA as well which just indicates how potent this vegetable is for you.

2. Eye Health
Carotenoids, namely lutein and zeaxanthin, are prevalent in Swiss Chard and they protect your retina and cornea alongside helping to prevent macular degeneration, cataracts and glaucoma. This is done by reducing the amount of blue light that enters your retina, especially important nowadays given how long you spend in front of your computer screens these days!

3. Muscle and Nerve Health
Swiss Chard contains high levels of potassium, magnesium, calcium and copper, all of which are of great importance to your muscles and nerve health. Magnesium, in particular, is plentiful here with a 36g serving containing 38% of your RDA. Magnesium helps to increase your circulation and reduce muscle cramps into the bargain.

4. Bone Health
As mentioned above, Vitamin K and calcium are both critical for your overall bone health and are abundantly found in Swiss Chard ensuring you build and maintain good, strong bones. Another useful fact about Vitamin K is that it activates osteocalcin, a protein associated with bone assembly, which often just circulates in the bloodstreams of those with Vitamin K deficiency and is thus not utilised effectively, which in turn impacts overall bone health.

5. Low in Calories
In a 36g serving of Swiss Chard there are only 35 calories which means that it is an ideal ‘fit’ for people looking to lose weight. Only 1.3kcal of that 35 calories is actually from fat.which will be useful, health-promoting fat.

Looking for a super simple way to add Swiss Chard to your diet? Watch the video above to see how easy it is to prepare. Fan of Swiss Chard, tell us what it’s done for you below, join in the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter! Looking for other healthy foods to get your teeth into? Then check out our other Top 5’s to help you KEEP your Fit ON!

Cameron Huck

Cameron is a huge fan of all things food and exercise. Currently studying International Hospitality Management at Bournemouth University he has also been part of the university rowing team and played football and badminton throughout most of his life. He loves to try new sports whenever he can. He's incredibly interested in understanding ways to make the 'healthy lifestyle' as easy as possible as well as how to effectively fuel-up for training in high intensity sports, namely rowing.

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