Top 5 Health Benefits of Cauliflower!

How do you eat cauliflower when you choose to have it? As cauliflower cheese, cauliflower rice, or perhaps just steamed or boiled? For many people, it plays the part of an interesting extra on a roast dinner plate that almost always comes second to its green cousin, broccoli. However, the health benefits and variety of ways you can serve it make it an amazing foodstuff whether it’s being used as a substitute for rice or by itself. If you, like many other people, are somewhat shy to put cauliflower on your plate then this is for you; read on for our Top 5 Health Benefits of Cauliflower!

1. Contains lots of Vitamin C
Vitamin C is an absolute necessity in your diet and you often absorb it through consuming fruits but did you know that cauliflower has 77% of your daily recommended dose of vitamin C in just 100g? Vitamin C was historically used to prevent scurvy which is an illness defined by “haemorrhaging tissues, bleeding gums, loose teeth, anaemia and general weakness.”

2. Contains Vitamin K
Alongside this, it is also rich in vitamin K which is otherwise known as phylloquinone. Vitamin K, according to Dr. Brian McFarlin, can increase your bone calcium storage which is important for the building of strong bones. Vitamin K can also affect your mitochondria function which can reduce your risk of strokes and cardiovascular diseases.

3. A great alternative source of Omega-3
Omega-3 is classically found in oily fish like mackerel but many people do not include fish in their diets. Despite this, Omega-3 is an incredibly important fatty acid that increases the content of plasma lipids, platelets, leukocytes and erythrocytes which are vital to your body’s natural defences against damage.

4. Contains ample magnesium
In a study conducted by the American Physiological Society for the Journal of Physiological Genomics, it was found that dietary magnesium, as can be found in abundance in cauliflower, can be used in “treatment of inflammatory arthritis and autoimmune diseases such as RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis)”. Therefore, a diet that includes a regular amount of cauliflower could actually help to prevent arthritis.

5. Good for your skin
Cauliflower and others from the Brassicaceae family are known to “accumulate high carotenoid levels, thus can help with aging, skin cancer, and other skin-related diseases. So, cauliflower can actually improve your skin and your body’s natural defences against skin ailments.

Cauliflower may at times live in the shadow of broccoli but both are fantastic for your diet and really easy to include in your everyday meals. When I eat cauliflower, I usually like to cook it with some shallots, garlic and aromatic spices like cumin and turmeric which gives it an amazing flavour as well as providing all the additional health benefits of eating nutritionally rich foods. How has cauli been good for your health? Let us know in the comments below, join in the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter! (Check out our other Top 5 articles to help you get YOUR Fit ON!)

Sarah Martineau

Sarah is a budding journalist who loves nothing more than indulging in well-made vegetarian and healthy food. A vegetarian for just over two years she's been writing and creating multi-media factual content for even longer! Some of her more recent achievements include interviewing Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for Education, and creating short videos with James Holland, a famous history journalist. Currently, Sarah studies Media Production at Bournemouth University where she regularly keeps fit and hopes to inspire others to do the same.

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