because they are good for health (as well as being tasty) – breaking latest news

Mizuna e tatsoi: but what language are we speaking? No errors or typos, these are two types of exotic salad which can now also be found in large distribution chains, together with others with equally unusual names. Reading here and on the net the healthy properties of these vegetables are praised, to the point that they seem superior to our products, but is it really true?

To begin with – replies Marina Carcea, manager of Crea, the research center for food and nutrition – it is useful to better understand what we are talking about. The mizuna and tatsoi belong to the brassica familyo cruciferous vegetables, including cabbage. Another very fashionable variety of salad is red chard, very elegant, characterized by a beautiful dark green leaf and a deep red stem. In this case, we are dealing with one Biet with the same characteristics of our common beets.

What are the nutritional characteristics of these vegetables?

Great, but no different than many other types of vegetablesthe difference lies in the fact that generally beets and brassicaceae, i.e. cabbage, are eaten cooked, while these vegetable products are suitable for raw consumption. We remind you that cooking, especially if prolonged and at high temperatures, as in the case of boiling, involves the loss, or in any case the reduction, of important elements for our health starting from vitamins, especially C which, notoriously, is thermolabile. None of us would gladly eat raw cabbage: not only does it have a strong taste that can be unpleasant, but it is also indigestible; the leaves of these salads picked “young”, on the other hand, are very pleasant.

What are the substances that make brassicaceae particularly interesting?

First of all the sulfur compounds typical of cruciferous vegetables; the presence of vitamins C, A and K and folic acid is also notable, useful for keeping our immune system efficient. Among the sulfur compounds we can mention sulforaphane, considered a powerful one
antioxidant
, but as always it’s about quantity: a little salad or four small pieces of cauliflower are not enough to protect yourself from the onset of disease. It must be said, however, that the more healthy foods we introduce into the diet, the more, independently of their necessarily limited quantity, our well-being benefits. So the variety and the “new entries” are good.

A salad that has recently appeared on our tables is the red giant:
This is also a brassica, it has a slightly spicy flavor reminiscent of mustard and a beautiful purple color. perfect in salads that include the use of fruit – explains Marina Carcea -. The fashion for salads composed in this way is quite recent and goes in the right direction. In addition to vitamins, fruit contains small quantities of sugars and if you use dried fruit (such as walnuts and hazelnuts) in addition to fresh fruit, you can compose a single dish, low in calories, together with a slice of bread, perhaps seasoned with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Note the use ofavocado. We are used to associating it with exotic countries, but it also comes from southern Italy. Then, the pomegranate, which goes well in winter salads. rich in anthocyanins with antioxidant capacity e
anti-inflammatory
.