Nutritional benefits of parsley; Parsley is one of the most famous vegetables known since ancient times for its various uses and benefits for the human body, and eating this type of plant is recommended for its richness in many diverse nutrients, which by your body obtaining it, you guarantee it many different benefits and protection from many diseases.
Here we will learn about the nutritional benefits of parsley, as we will learn about the 13 most important nutrients in this wonderful vegetable, with a brief statement of the 11 most important health benefits.
What is parsley?
Parsley is one of the basic herbs in Arab cuisine, and it is a plant that can be easily incorporated into a person’s diet is more than one way, such as using it in preparing food, salads, or placing it as a garnish for foods.
Scientifically, the parsley belongs to the family Apiaceae, and its correct name is Al-Muqaddunus, but in colloquial dialects, it is called the parsley or the metallic one. Parsley has many uses and recipes in alternative medicine that come with effective results for many people.
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Parsley nutritional value
Before eating the nutritional benefits of parsley, we learn about the nutritional value of this plant, as the nutritional and health benefits of parsley are mainly due to its diverse content of nutrients that the body needs in many vital processes in the body. In every 100 grams of fresh parsley there are:
Nutritional Ingredient Nutritional value/100g
- Water: 87.71 ml.
- Calories: 36 calories.
- Carbs: 6.33 grams.
- Sugars: 0.85 g.
- Dietary fiber: 3.3 g.
- Protein: 2.97 g.
- Fat: 0.79 g.
- Calcium: 138 milligrams.
- Iron: 6.2 milligrams.
- Magnesium: 50 mg.
- Phosphorous: 58 milligrams.
- Potassium: 554 mg.
- Sodium: 56 mg.
- Zinc: 1.07 milligrams.
- Vitamin B5: 0.4 mg.
- Vitamin B3: 1.313 mg.
- Vitamin B2: 0.098 mg.
- Vitamin B1: 0.086 mg.
- Vitamin C: 133 mg.
- Selenium: 0.1 µg.
- Manganese: 0.16 milligrams.
- Copper: 0.149 milligrams.
- Vitamin B6: 0.09 mg.
- Folate: 152 mcg.
- Choline: 12.8 mg.
- Vitamin A: 8424 IU.
- Vitamin E: 0.75 milligrams.
- Vitamin K: 1640 mcg.
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Nutrients in parsley
After knowing the nutritional value of parsley, we learn about the most important nutrients in it. The nutrients in parsley include:
Vitamin K
Parsley contains a very high amount of vitamin K, as each cup of parsley (30 grams) provides 547% of the daily need for this vitamin.
Vitamin K is one of the important and beneficial vitamins for human health. It helps balance blood viscosity, cleans and produces the liver protein, prevents plaque buildup in blood vessels, is beneficial for bone health and maintenance, and is beneficial for heart health.
Vitamin A is one of the nutrients in parsley
Parsley contains a large amount of vitamin A, as each cup of parsley (30 grams) provides the equivalent of 108% of the daily need for this vitamin.
Vitamin A is an antioxidant that improves night vision, is beneficial for skin health, and is an important nutrient for the eye, growth, cell division, reproduction, and strengthening of the immune system, and it has a role in reducing the incidence of cancer.
vitamin C)
Parsley contains a good amount of vitamin C, as each cup of parsley (30 grams) provides the equivalent of 53% of the body's daily need for this vitamin.
This vitamin is one of the powerful antioxidants important to strengthen the body’s immunity and protect it from various diseases, and it has a major role in improving the health of the skin and preserving it from wrinkles. Vitamin C also helps improve mood and lower bad cholesterol.
Antioxidants
Fresh parsley leaves contain a variety of antioxidants, which protect the body from free radical damage. In the case of increased levels of free radicals, this leads to damage to healthy cells, and this leads to cancer and other chronic diseases. Antioxidants are important to protect the various cells of the body.
folate
Parsley is a good source of folate, as every 30 grams of it contains 11% of the body's daily need for folate. This nutrient improves the health of different cells and tissues in the human body and also has a role in improving brain and heart health and protecting against exposure to dangerous cancer.
potassium
Parsley contains an amount of potassium mineral, as every 30 grams of it contains 4% of the body's daily need for this nutrient. Potassium is a vital mineral in the body, which is good for growth, building muscle, improving the health of the nervous system, and has many benefits for cardiovascular health.
chlorophyll
Parsley is rich in chlorophyll, which helps in giving the breath and body a pleasant scent. Chlorophyll acts as an antifungal, reducing odor-causing bacteria that are responsible for producing bad breath and body odor.
Other nutrients in parsley
In the following, we present the most important rest of the nutrients in parsley with a summary of some of the benefits of each nutritional element:
- Vitamin B: It helps in the restoration of various cells of the body, and the release of energy from the cells.
- Vitamin E: Helps delay the aging of your body's cells.
- Iron: is an important mineral for the production of hemoglobin, which is required for energy, and protects against anemia.
- Manganese: helps the body absorb vitamin C from food and produces sex hormones.
- Zinc: One of the benefits of this nutrient is to strengthen the immune system and prevent acne.
- Calcium: A very important mineral for strengthening the health of bones, teeth, and hair
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Health benefits of parsley
After knowing the nutritional benefits of parsley, which are due, as we mentioned, due to the nutrients present in parsley, we briefly learn about the health benefits of parsley, which include the following:
- Promote digestive health.
- Promote liver health, it works to regenerate liver tissue after damage caused by chronic diseases.
- Reducing blood sugar levels, and it is used as an alternative treatment for type 1 diabetes in a number of countries.
- As well as improving the smell of the breath and the body.
- Eating parsley helps lower blood pressure and acts as a diuretic.
- Reducing the risk of cancer is one of the benefits of parsley for the body.
- Regulating menstruation in women.
- It has anti-inflammatory properties.
- May be useful in relieving respiratory problems.
- Beneficial for eye health.
- It is also beneficial for bone health.
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Parsley uses and tips before eating it
You can use parsley greens in several ways, and among the best of these are the following:
- Parsley juice: You can mix parsley with many other fruits and vegetables.
- Decoction of parsley or parsley boiled: It is obtained by steeping parsley leaves in boiling water for several minutes.
- Salads: Fresh parsley leaves can be added to different salads.
- Spices: This vegetable can be dried and added to various foods in the form of spices.
To obtain the nutritional and health benefits of parsley to the maximum extent possible, it is necessary to purchase fresh parsley, which is characterized by green leaves and the absence of signs of dryness and color fading. Rinsing, drying, and chopping of parsley should also be done around the time you eat to prevent vitamin leaching.
It is also important to add parsley vegetables at the end of the cooking process, in order to preserve the flavor and nutritional quality, in the event that parsley is incorporated into the cooking.
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Frequently asked questions about the nutritional benefits of parsley
Is parsley harmful for pregnant women?
Yes, as it is advised that pregnant women not eat parsley for fear of stimulating childbirth.
Is parsley a diuretic?
No, parsley is one of the foods that a nursing mother should avoid for fear of drying up the milk.
Does parsley raise blood pressure?
No, parsley works as a diuretic, it increases the excretion of sodium and water through the urine, and also increases the reabsorption of potassium in the kidneys, and this makes parsley useful in reducing blood pressure.