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The healthiest herbs not only spice up every meal, they provide lots of nutrients and can even give us a real energy boost.
Whether for tea, in soup or for marinating – culinary herbs are versatile and enhance every dish not only in terms of taste. One healthy eating benefits from herbs, even if the plants are often neglected. In fact, herbs contain tons of nutrients that we should eat every day.
Which is healthier: dried or fresh herbs?
First of all: fresh is healthier. This means that if you really want the full pot of nutrients, it’s best to collect the herbs directly from the plant and then, of course, wash them off well. If you don’t have a plant available, you can still buy cut herbs from the market or supermarket.
In no other form than this does the culinary herb give you so many nutrients – not dried, ground or frozen. Many of the herbs should also be used fresh in the dish and not cooked or co-cooked. Nutrients are lost in the process. But the taste and crunchy consistency can also suffer. It is important to get the herbs from the healthiest spices to distinguish.
Which culinary herbs are the healthiest?
But what about a closer look at the nutrients? In general, the most popular culinary herbs contain many trace elements such as sodium, calcium and magnesium. But also lots of vitamins – from vitamin A to K. The 5 biggest nutrient bombs among the most popular herbs HEIDELBERG24 listed.
What is striking is that in addition to popular local classics such as parsley and cress, there is also a fine herb that is particularly popular in Mediterranean cuisine: tarragon. The plant excels especially when it comes to trace elements. The herb provides plenty of potassium, calcium and sodium. The three substances are important for blood pressure, bones and teeth.
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Which herbs have the most vitamins?
Tarragon scores particularly well with its trace elements and therefore ends up at the top of the overall ranking. But which herbs have the most vitamins? The five herbs already mentioned perform particularly well here in comparison with other herbs. However, the sequence looks a little different. Here parsley is an absolute all-rounder: it contains vitamins A, B3, E and K as well as folic acid.
Of all of them, parsley provides a good portion, if not the most. But other herbs also have their strengths. Dill is the ultimate vitamin A bomb and is therefore good for the growth and regeneration of the body. According to the German Nutrition Society (DGE), the substance is also good for the immune system and vision. Basil can also score points here. And cress is good for the metabolism with lots of vitamin B3.
Which herbs should you eat every day?
While garden cress is more common in this country, that’s what counts Watercress is one of the healthiest foods in the world with lots of vitamins and few calories. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you should eat watercress every day for your diet. Instead, it is healthier to cover the most important food groups every day and focus on variety.
Feel free to alternate the herbs too. Otherwise, versatile culinary herbs are your best friend: you can safely eat an herb every day that can be used to prepare many different dishes. Parsley scores here too – at least when it comes to German cuisine. The herb tastes good in salads, soups, sauces, in quark or with various vegetables.
Which herbs for more energy?
However, if you are looking for a quicker energy boost, you can also find it with popular culinary herbs. Basil can not only stimulate the appetite, but also promotes digestion and, according to gesundheit.de, is even said to help against insomnia, migraines and stress. So seasoning with basil can also help.
If you still feel tired even without stress, insomnia or headaches, you can season with rosemary or drink tea. As a study from the University of Salzburg found, rosemary helps with blood flow to the brain. This brings more oxygen to the brain – which makes us more alert and able to concentrate. But even the herbs in the healthiest teas make you awake.
How healthy are frozen herbs?
We don’t always have fresh herbs available. It is clear that green and unprocessed is better than dried. But are frozen herbs possibly a useful and nutritious alternative to fresh herbs? Under certain conditions yes.
For one reason, the healthiest ready meal is frozen food: If the ingredients were fresh when frozen, they still contain a lot of nutrients when thawed. (paw)