Collards

See also : Cruciferous Vegetables

Special Precautions of Collards

• Cruciferous Vegetables are excellent accumulators of heavy metals, including thallium. Cruciferous vegetables include: kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, collard and mustard greens. While considering kale’s explosion in popularity, Hrecent reports made the link between cruciferous vegetables and possible thallium toxicity.

The benefits of Collards are

Just like its cousin kale, collards are effective in the health of the cardiovascular system, as well as in the prevention of cancer formation. Collards are also rich in vitamins K, A and C, although in lesser amounts compared to kale. Collard greens have three functions. First it can detoxify the body through the various phytonutrients with sulfur contained in the plant. Second, collard greens have an antioxidant function. The vegetable contains varying phytonutrients, such as quercetin, ferulic acid, caffeic acid and kaempferol, which can lower the effect of the oxidative stress that normally happens in the body. Lastly, with high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids found in collards, it lowers the degree of inflammation, which causes the cells to regenerate fast and increasing the formation of cancer cells.