Swiss chard nutrition

Swiss chard nutrition is important to me for numerous reasons. I will mention a few. I have had a lazy-colon since childhood days; and alas my granddaughter has inherited it. A diet rich in soluble fibre,like that in all your organic green foods, is vital for me; otherwise it's rabbit pellets.

Then after radishes, it is the easiest vegetable in the garden to grow. It goes on for months and even years, bearing wonderful food daily.

It is brilliant for those who are banting too; we enjoy Eggs-Florentine almost daily for breakfast, poached on a bed of greens; it contains near to zero-carbohydrate.

This page was last updated by Bernard Preston on 8th November, 2023.

And then it is home to a host of vitamins and minerals. Do you bruise easily? Just one-sixth of a cup provides enough vitamin K to solve your problem.

But perhaps most important of all is that Swiss chard is a rich source of the carotenoids that help to prevent serious disease and reduce inflammation in the body.

Then there is the betaine that is absolutely essential in the methionine cycle. Without it and three other B-vitamins, there is a build up of toxic homocysteine; that means painful muscles and joints.

This is today's variation of Eggs-Florentine, our daily breakfast, since there is a glut of fresh green peas from the garden at the moment.

To repeat since it is so common, do you bruise easily? One cup of lightly-boiled Swiss chard nutrition supplies six times the RDA of vitamin K.

• What is betaine?

Diabetes

There is a type-2 diabetes epidemic in much of the world; it's all related to lifestyle and the food we eat.

Swiss chard nutrition makes a vital contribution to five serious ailments in today's society; namely constipation, malignant-tumours and blindness. And helps enormously to prevent inflamed arteries, muscles and joints.

Simply do not accept that if you have one of the nasty autoimmune-diseases that are characterised by inflammation then you are doomed to taking cortisone for the rest of your days. Rather, think Swiss chard nutrition.

• Guide to autoimmune diseases @ WebMD

This is an excellent guide from WebMD but as usual there is absolutely no mention that what we eat may have some influence over these diseases.

Add to that the fifth, the epidemic of diabetes in today's world and you will appreciate the importance of your Swiss chard; and other greens.

One of these carotenoids has been shown to slow an enzyme found naturally in the small intestine; the function of alpha-glucosidase is to break down starches in say potato and bread into simple sugars.

We eat far too much refined starch these days; it is turned rapidly into blood sugar, producing an insulin rush, making us fat and exhausting the pancreas. So this inhibition of alpha-glucosidase by Swiss chard nutrition contributes in one small way to diabetes.

Be careful to avoid "Cappy Apple" for example, from a famous fast-food chain; it contains 37g of sugars, double the starch that a diabetic should have in a whole day and is devoid of all the fibre.

Enter the blocking effect of your Swiss chard and you can see why it helps regulate blood glucose. Every diabetic should be enjoying a helping of this family of greens daily; raw or cooked and preferably both.

Every diabetic should know about reheating resistant starch. It is the way, along with a short walk after starchy meals, to help stabilise your blood-sugar. Chill your Swiss chard soup overnight and warm it again the next day.

Along with beetroot, spinach and kale, they belong to a family of foods called chenopods. All four are easy to grow in the garden; pick them fresh and enjoy them daily. In mild climates likes ours they do best in the cooler weather.

Tingling in arms, hands and legs is one of the signs of diabetes; but it could be a pinched nerve in the spine.

A variation for the cold winter nights is Bernie's beetroot soup, also known as borscht; it is a good fit with our philosophy of slow food, made fast. Whilst I love the kitchen I have better things to do than spend hours labouring over the stove; it has got to be quick and nutritious. There is no junk in our home except on high and holy days.  

It is six weeks after the winter solstice and you will notice the bugs are ravenous; they have tucked into these organic green foods, proving they are not sprayed with toxic poisons. I would rather share my dinner with a grasshopper than risk getting cancer. Do you agree?

I often think of bugs as the housewife's taster. If every leaf is perfect there is a high suspicion that they have been sprayed. If the bugs stay away, should not you too?

Anyway that is one of the reasons that I promote to my chiropractic patients the virtues of the home garden. I have seen too many die from cancer; it is a great misery and I have no desire to go out that way. Apart from anything else the cost of cancer treatment is so great today that it will erode all your carefully harvested savings.

It is now early summer; it is incredible what a bit of heat and the rain rich in nitrogen after a thunderstorm does to those mean looking veggies that I pictured above.

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"The source of my difficulties has always been the same; an inability to accept what to others seems natural, and an irresistible tendency to voice opinions no one wants to hear."

Isabel Allende

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Swiss chard recipes

Swiss chard recipes in the main are so simple and quick.

You can eat the very young leaves raw but generally Swiss chard is enjoyed either lightly blanched or steamed. It helps to reduce any oxylate absorption should you have a problems with kidney or gallbladder stones.

• Recipes for Swiss chard
• Swiss chard food
• Spinach oxylates and kidney stones
  

Bruising

Bruising is becoming hugely problematic.

Over and above the vitamin K, chard has a rich supply of A and C; magnesium, iron and even 10 percent of your daily calcium needs.

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Newsletter

Our newsletter is entitled "create a cyan zone" at your home, preserving both yourself and Mother Earth for future generations; and the family too, of course. We promise not to spam you with daily emails promoting various products. You may get an occasional nudge to buy one of my books.

Here are the back issues.

Plant a row in your garden every month and you will be astonished how much daily organic green food it supplies for your salads and dinners; and how much stronger you will be with less painful joints, free and easy bowel movements and less bruising.

You will not notice the stronger bones but it's there, delaying that broken hip to your nineties. If you are diabetic, just watch the drop in your insulin requirements. Interesting new research reveals the importance of a short, brisk walk after dinner; those suffering from raised blood glucose can put their disease entirely into remission without the use of any medication.

• Investing in long-term health
• What are ultra-processed foods?
  

Nutritious choice foods

Nutritious choice foods are those that give you a significant chance of reaching your eighties and nineties with all your marbles and joints intact. Swiss chard is one important important factor.

Enjoy your cooked greens; or perhaps one of these fresh spinach salad recipes.

I particularly love Bernie's delicious spinach dip with any salad.

Macular degeneration

Macular degeneration is the most common cause of blindness in the aged; and it is largely preventable. It is caused by a deficiency of two carotenoids that are found in very high concentrations in normal retinas.

Those who will not eat their greens, and particularly if they also smoke, are likely to get lutein macular degeneration; the other phytochemical is zeaxanthin.

These carotenoids are found in greatest amounts in free range eggs, kale and spinach; or Swiss chard.

Learn how to grow spinach in your garden; after radishes the easiest of all the vegetables.

Swiss chard nutrition is an important topic, I think you will agree; it could make the difference between using a magnifying glass to read and a white stick to walk and being a vigorous, healthy elderly person.

Understanding Swiss chard nutrition is at the heart of the third of the ten commandments of food security.

Useful links

• Nutritional value of kale
• Chickpeas soup recipe - drop in a few Swiss chard leaves for more colour.
  
• Benefits of spinach
  

Bernard Preston

Bernard Preston is passionate about nutritious choice foods; says he, that's one way most of us can escape taking numerous medications every day.

Vitamins, minerals and the phytochemicals in our food are vital for many cellular reactions in the body.

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Create a Cyan Zone at your home; one which complements blue areas for longevity with green for protecting Mother Earth.