Turnips are among the cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, arugula, and Brussels sprouts. Just like the other cruciferous vegetables, turnips also provides a lot of nutrients but in a low amount of calories. This is not just the health-boosting power of turnips. There are a lot more –and it might just surprise you.
What are Turnips?
Turnips belong to the plant family of Brassicaceae, the same family as kale, cabbage, cauliflower, etc. Even though others refer bulbous roots as turnips, their leaves and sprouts are also edible and very high in nutritious value. Furthermore, the said vegetable is also widely used in the Asian, Eastern American, and European cuisines.
The bulbous root of the turnips are often chopper or diced and pickled while its leaves are combined in soups and stews. Furthermore, the baby turnips are also delicious, sweet and tender –that’s why it is a good addition to salads or you can eat it raw if you want. As the vegetable matures, its flavor becomes more distinct and its texture becomes more woody and firm.
Turnip’s inner flesh is white in color with bits of pink to red to purple while the vegetable’s skin color varies. The skin of the turnip depends on the amount of sunlight it gets and this usually appears to be white. Turnips are generally tapering in shape, however, sometimes it is round. Its maximum weight may reach up to 1kg. The taste of its leaves is like a mustard while the root’s taste is kind of bittersweet.
Nutritional Value of Turnips
A medium raw turnip contains:
– 34 calories
– 0 grams of fat
– 8 grams of carbohydrate (with 2 grams of fiber and 5 grams and sugar)
– 1 gram of protein
Eating a medium raw turnip may provide you with 54% of the daily vitamin C needs. Furthermore, it can also give 8% of your body’s daily manganese needs, 7% of body’s potassium needs, and 5% of folate, copper, and vitamin B6.
Health Boosting Power of Turnips
Turnips aren’t just a member of the cruciferous vegetables that you can incorporate in many dishes. The health-boosting power of turnips is also exceptional and amazing. That’s why undoubtedly, you will not just enjoy eating it, and you’ll also benefit a lot from it.
Here are some of the health benefits of turnips:
Helps prevent cancer. Turnips contain high levels of phytochemicals and antioxidants, which helps in reducing cancer risk. Furthermore, the presence of glucosinolates also helps in reducing the effect of cancer.
Helps in improving the cardiovascular health. The anti-inflammatory properties that turnips possess are because of the presence of vitamin K in it. These mainly helps in preventing the occurrence of heart attacks, strokes, and some other heart ailments.
Helps improve the bone health. Turnips are a good source of potassium and calcium that are both important for the healthy growth and maintenance of the bones. With regular consumption of turnips, it will prevent some bone-related illnesses like arthritis, osteoporosis, etc.
Helps maintain good lung health. The vitamin A in turnip greens helps in maintaining healthy lungs. It counteracts the carcinogens in the cigarette smoke which causes inflammation and some lung problems.
Helps in digestion. Because of its high fiber content, the turnip greens are essential in supporting the digestive system of the body.
Helps prevent atherosclerosis. The atherosclerosis is a condition wherein the blood vessels get damaged. The beta-carotene, vitamins C and E help in fighting the free radicals in the body thus preventing the occurrence of atherosclerosis.
Helps in preventing body odor. The problem of body odor is common, most especially when it is hot. The turnip juice is helpful in this situation, it gets rid of the body odor effectively. This is considered one of the best health boosting power of turnips.
Possible Health Risk of Eating Turnips
Like any other vegetable, fruit, or foods, the health boosting power of turnips also has its counterpart. You should eat turnips with proper guidance of professionals as it might harm your health instead of making it better.
A diet that has high nitrate content may interrelate with some medications like organic nitrate or nitrite drugs that are used for sildenafil citrate, verdenafil, agina, and tadalafil. You should make sure that you avoid the inorganic nitrates in processed meats because these are very carcinogenic.
Furthermore, the total diet or what they call the overall eating pattern is the most vital in preventing diseases and achieving good health status. You should remember that it is better to eat a diet that has a variety that to concentrate on individual foods.
Conclusion
That’s it, you now know that turnips aren’t just a delicious vegetable you can eat when you want to. The health boosting powers of turnips is also a surprising and unique. So, what are you waiting for, if you want to be healthy in a natural way and with a delicious food, try turnips!
