Properties and benefits of the artichoke, the best ally in your diet.
Thanks to its multiple benefits, the artichoke is an essential element in any healthy diet: it is depurative, diuretic, helps to regulate the intestine and strengthens the immune system and fights cholesterol.
The artichoke is one of the most popular vegetables thanks to its multiple properties; it has benefits on several organs, such as liver, kidney, intestine and heart, as well as in the digestive and nervous systems, and helps regulate the level of blood sugar and cholesterol.
WATER AND FIBER.
It has become an essential ingredient of any slimming diet thanks to its high content in water and fiber, combined with low calorie intake. It is also rich in minerals, such as magnesium or iron, and vitamins, especially group B. Beyond its unquestionable nutritional value, the artichoke provides us with much more, such as cynarin, chlorogenic acid, inulin, flavonoids ... These are just some examples of the active principles artichoke contains and that result in multiple qualities, making it one of the great allies of our health.
DIURETIC ACTION.
The presence of cynarin and the high content of potassium are responsible for the diuretic property of the artichoke. This is why it is considered an excellent ingredient of depurative diets as it is of great help in cases of fluid retention, hypertension and even uric acid, and facilitate the elimination of toxins.
LOWERS CHOLESTEROL AND TAKES CARE OF YOUR HEART.
Another of its benefits is its ability to help us reduce high cholesterol levels. The cynarin , besides favoring removal of cholesterol , also inhibits some of the enzymes that participate in its synthesis. On the other hand, artichoke’s high fiber content helps to drag fats along the intestine, further limiting their absorption, contributing to cholesterol and triglyceride levels regulation.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR INTESTINE.
Besides helping to regulate intestinal transit, artichoke’s high content of fiber makes it an ideal complement to slimming diets due to its satiating capacity. Artichoke contains inulin, a soluble fiber that reaches the large bowel almost unchanged, where it serves as food for the bacteria that form the intestinal flora stimulating their growth, with the benefits that this entails for our health; it regulates intestinal transit, improves the absorption of nutrients, such as calcium or magnesium, and helps to reduce certain digestive disorders.
NATURAL ANTIOXIDANT.
Another active ingredient worth mentioning is chlorogenic acid, as it also contributes to lower blood sugar levels by delaying the release of glucose into the bloodstream.
In short, we are dealing with a vegetable that is depurative, diuretic, digestive, hepatoprotective, antioxidant ... Without any kind of doubt, there are more than enough reasons to justify its popularity and, of course, to have it very much present in our diet.