As we age, the need to pay special attention to our health becomes more and more urgent. One of its pillars is nutrition, which must be balanced and healthy. This does not mean that we must eat only a small number of foods, but that we must focus on natural and unprocessed ones.
Indeed, if we look at the variety offered by our supermarkets we will realize that there are some foods that we have always ignored. Perhaps they seem too exotic to us, but we must remember that potatoes and tomatoes were once too.
Today we want to talk about one of these foods, a tuber, similar to potatoes, but with a pleasant artichoke flavor. Not only that, but its nutritional properties have many advantages: we fight cholesterol, osteoporosis and hyperglycemia with this tasty little-known vegetable.
Jerusalem artichoke, the tuber of winter
Consuming seasonal food is one of the most sustainable choices we can make to save money, eat better and pollute less. Among the winter vegetables there is Jerusalem artichoke, present almost all year round in large-scale distribution, but it is often at its best between October and March. It is a root, whose appearance is very reminiscent of ginger, although more purplish and with a much more delicate flavor. In fact, many associate it with artichoke, but we can use it as if it were a potato. Unlike the latter, however, we can also enjoy it raw.
Let’s fight cholesterol, osteoporosis and hyperglycemia with this tasty little-known vegetable
Jerusalem artichoke has another important difference from potato and that is it contains less starch and more fiber. We also consider that for 100 grams of Jerusalem artichoke we will get only 73 calories. Therefore, it is a food that in addition to being good and healthy goes very well with most diets.
The fibers contained in Jerusalem artichoke have the pleasant property of promoting the normal course of intestinal functions. Hence, it can prove very useful as we age, especially for women who often suffer from intestinal difficulties. Not only that, fiber also protects our cardiovascular health. Also because Jerusalem artichoke contains a good dose of inulin, a soluble fiber that limits the amount of fat and sugar absorbed from the intestine. This means that Jerusalem artichoke would avoid the accumulation of excessive amounts of glucose and cholesterol in the blood.
We add that this tuber is a good source of antioxidants thanks to the presence of vitamins A, C and E, manganese and selenium. We also find vitamin B, which is important for metabolism and useful for the development of the nervous system during gestation.
Finally, we find calcium and phosphorus, precious for the health of bones and teeth, and iron, essential for the production of red blood cells.
If we overdo the consumption of Jerusalem artichokes we could run into the unpleasant inconvenience of an intestinal gas accumulation. At the moment, however, there are no other contraindications for the consumption of Jerusalem artichokes.