Water cress is a vegetable that belongs to the same family as that of other nutrient dense vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli – so all the health benefits of watercress should strike as no surprise. However, watercress is unique in its own way from these two vegetables in that it is a semi aquatic vegetable. In other words, most of this vegetable is made up of water content.
Watercress consists of small leaves and stems, of which house an abundance of healthy nutrients. In terms of texture, watercress is crispy, somewhat spicy and the provides a strong peppery bite which is filled with the antioxidants, folic acid, iron, vitamin A and vitamin C. Watercress makes a perfect base for fresh salads and for perking up your health. Here we will discuss all the health benefits of watercress which you can easily musterby just enjoying this simple, no fuss veggie.
Watercress benefits include it being a strong contender against cancer. Watercress has an upper hand against cancer as it is filled to the brim with an important photochemical called glucosinolates which have displayed the ability to produce the cancer fighting chemicals. As a result, watercress helps prevent, and inhibit the growth of several different cancers which includes - breast cancer, colon cancer, and even prostate cancer. Watercress also contains a rich content of Antioxidants which help prevent cell damage caused by free radicals, which are also another major cause of cancer.
The health benefits of watercress also include its positive impact on eye health. This is because; watercress is rich in two kinds of caretenoids which are necessary for good eye health. These are lutein and zeaxanthin respectively. Both of these compounds help boost overall eye health and help fight against several eye ailments which include macular degeneration, night blindness and cataracts. This watercress benefit should be taken advantage of to the maximum!
The caretenoid called lutein (mentioned above) is not only healthy for the eyes but has also been proven to be beneficial to prevent heart and arterial damage. This means that watercress may promote heart healthy by preventing the development of plaque on the artery walls.
It is a known fact that individuals who aim to weight loss need to follow a low calorie diet which is high in fruits and vegetables. Now watercress is an ideal vegetable consume as a part of your low calorie diet plan – due to the fact that watercress has a very high water consistency and low calories. This means that watercress will effectively add bulk to meals without the calories. The water content in watercress will help weight loss by keeping you sustained and satisfied in terms of hunger, minus the calories and fat. In fact, centers of Disease Control organization encourage people to add more vegetables like watercress into their diets in order to promote weight loss.
Surprisingly, this watery veggie contains another surprising benefit, which is that, watercress benefits the bones. Yes, thanks to its rich content of Vitamin K which is important for maintaining strong and healthy bones. Vitamin K is needed as it is the very compound that helps deposit and converts calcium into its needed uses. Without Vitamin K, Calcium would be of little use.
