Parsley - What Are The Benefits?
Author: Victoria Aly
Time for reading: ~1
minutes
Last Updated:
August 08, 2022
In this article, learn more about Parsley - What Are The Benefits?. Regular use of parsley protects the heart and blood vessels..
Parsley is one of the most used spices in Bulgarian cuisine. It gives freshness and great taste to food, has a high nutritional density and brings many benefits to our body. It is an excellent source of vitamins A, C, K and folic acid. In smaller quantities, it is a source of minerals such as iron, copper, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and others.
Healthy qualities of parsley. It contains two types of valuable ingredients that give the qualities of this spice. Parsley is rich in essential oils such as myristicin, lemon, eugenol and alpha thujane. The other type of ingredients are flavonoids - apine, apigenin, chrysoeriol and luteolin.
The flavonoids in parsley are powerful antioxidants . Luteolin has strong antioxidant properties and neutralizes free oxygen radicals and protects cells from damage.
Free radicals cause many diseases and are the cause of cell aging. Animal studies have shown that the use of parsley extract enhances the antioxidant capacity of blood cells.
In addition to being a source of essential oils and flavonoids, parsley contains large amounts of vitamin C and vitamin A. Vitamin C also exhibits strong antioxidant properties, as well as anti-inflammatory and immunostimulatory properties . Its anti-inflammatory action has been used successfully in conditions such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Strengthening immunity, vitamin C is used to prevent ear infections and colds.
Parsley for a healthy heart. It is a great source of folic acid. It performs many functions in the body. One of them is related to the normal activity of the heart and blood vessels.
With the accumulation of high levels of the amino acid homocysteine in the body there is a risk of damage to blood vessels and subsequent complications such as heart attack or stroke, especially in patients with atherosclerosis. Consumption of foods rich in folic acid reduces homocysteine and protects blood vessels from damage.
How to cook parsley? Prefer fresh, dried parsley. Wash the petals in a bowl of lukewarm water to clean it of sand and other contaminants. Most often, parsley is used as a fresh spice in cooked dishes and it is added at the end when the dish is almost ready to preserve its nutritional properties and give freshness to food. Parsley can also be eaten raw as a spice in many salads.