Health Benefits of Kohlrabi

A hardy vegetable that looks like a cross between a cabbage and pear, Kohlrabi is well known in Europe and Northern India as a health staple in their diets. Kohlrabi is to the consistency of a broccoli stem or, with certain types of preparation, an apple. It is something that can be both enjoyable to eat and incredibly healthy, as it has all kinds of beneficial nutrients. Below are ten health benefits of Kohlrabi.

Like a Natural Growing Multi-Vitamin

Kohlrabi is known for being loaded with nutrients and minerals that are incredibly helpful for all facets of people’s health. It reads like the back of a bottle of multi-vitamins. There’s copper, potassium, manganese, iron, and calcium. As well as vitamins like Vitamin A and Vitamin K. And, as is the case with most cruciferous vegetables, it is also loaded with fiber which is always good to consume on a regular basis.

Digestion Help

The fiber in Kohlrabi is incredibly helpful to your health, especially when it comes to digestion. A few servings of Kohlrabi will move your bowels along, help relieve gastrointestinal issues. The fiber will also allow you to absorb nutrients from other things consume more efficiently. In short, this is a great vegetable to eat when you are having stomach issues or want to clear out your digestive system.

Helpful When Trying to Lose Weight

As it’s a cruciferous vegetable, Kohlrabi doesn’t have many calories. So it is an excellent addition to a diet where you are trying to lose weight and stay healthy. Beyond the nutritional benefits, it also has a lot of good energy within it, so it takes your body longer to break it down. This makes you feel full and keeps you from snacking in between meals. Instead of broccoli or brussels sprouts, try kohlrabi as your vegetable side to a few meals.

Gives You More Energy

With so many helpful vitamins and minerals packed into it, Kohlrabi also gives you a lot of good, real energy after you consume it. The main mineral that does this though is potassium, which is a significant part of muscle and nerve activity within the human body. The high potassium content kicks your senses into high gear, making you feel more active and alert.

Helpful for Regulating Blood Pressure

The high amount of potassium in Kohlrabi, as previously mentioned, is also incredibly helpful for regulating and improving blood pressure as it functions as a vasodilator. This means it reduces strain on the body’s cardiovascular system, increasing circulation throughout the body and providing more oxygen to areas that may not have been getting as much as they needed in the past. Chances of strokes or heart attacks can also be reduced by consuming regular amounts of potassium.

Helps with Anemia

Not only is there a large concentration of potassium in Kohlrabi, but there is also a large amount of iron, enough so that it can help with ailments like Anemia, also known as iron deficiency. Anemia has a whole long list of problems, from weakness to fatigue to stomach disorders, disorientation, and immune system failure. With this extra iron, these ailments can be improved, as well as the overall immune system boosted.

Bone Strengthening

Bones get weaker over time, which is why older adults are prone to break bones more easily. One way to counteract this is to eat foods that are very mineral rich, namely vegetables like Kohlrabi, which will add overall bone density and make breaks more difficult. Much of this is due to it’s higher calcium contents, though the other minerals help. Eating it regularly will keep diseases like osteoporosis at bay and also keep an elderly person from suffering a painful and often dangerous bone break.

Takes Care of the Eyes

Vitamin A is critical for the health of the eyes and Kohlrabi has an incredibly high concentration of it, making it as important to eat as any vegetable out there when it comes to eye health. Having this Vitamin will keep your eyes from deteriorating and also slow the formation of cataracts. It is also a vegetable with a rich source of carotenes, like beta-carotene, which acts as an antioxidant compound in the eyes.

Speeds Up Metabolism

A faster metabolism makes your whole body operate better, so if one is trying to speed theirs up or reset it because something has been off, eating Kohlrabi is one good solution. The B Vitamins will be the most helpful within it, as it pertains to the enzymes within our body. If these enzymes are off, then everything else can feel off as well. Even if they’re not, having your metabolism regularly boosted by a vegetable is never a bad thing.

Could Have Cancer Benefits

With all the nutrients and minerals in Kohlrabi, it has been found by some to possibly be useful in preventing cancer. There is the belief that due to the high levels of phytochemicals in Kohlrabi, specifically glucosinates, eating it on a regular basis could be incredibly helpful when trying to prevent breast or prostate cancer. Just another plus to consuming this already incredibly healthy vegetable on a regular basis.