Chinese leaf is an important vegetable in many East Asian dishes. Vegetables which are also known as Chinese cabbage are not only delicious but also provide many good benefits for improving body health. Consuming Chinese cabbage can be in various ways, usually eaten as a salad or as a vegetable gravy. The important thing is that Chinese leaf can provide many health benefits, you may be curious about the benefits? Let’s see further, what are the benefits of Chinese cabbage for health?
At least, we have collected 10 benefits of consuming Chinese cabbage or Chinese leaf. Among them as:
- Good source of vitamins and minerals
- As a source of antioxidants
- Lowering bad cholesterol
- good for weight loss
- Useful for skin health
- Good for eye health
- Strengthens teeth and bones
- Helps lower blood pressure
- Strengthen the body’s immune
- Good for heart health
Here we will explain more about the benefits of Chinese leaf one by one in detail. Included in our explanation are the types of vitamins, antioxidants present in Chinese leaf. This vegetable is also popular as a good vegetable for weight loss. So, there are many benefits of Chinese cabbage, or also known as Oriental cabbage, napa cabbage and Peking cabbage.
Ok, let’s just take a look at the benefits of the following Chinese leaf, hopefully it will add to our love for vegetables and healthy food. Here we see the details one by one.
Amazing Health Benefits of Chinese Leaf
1. As a source of vitamins and minerals
As a source of vitamins and minerals, Chinese cabbage is widely considered as a family food and is often consumed as a vegetable or salad. This vegetable contains many nutrients, there are many vitamins and minerals that can be obtained by consuming Chinese leaf. What are the vitamins in Chinese cabbage, here’s an explanation!
Also see: Health Benefits of Chinese Plum
– Vitamin B9 (Folate)
Chinese leaf vegetables are rich in vitamin B9 which is also known as folate. The benefit of vitamin B9 is to increase the body’s metabolism by converting the food we consume into energy. In addition to increasing the body’s metabolism, B9 also serves to improve heart health, hematology and blood flow.
In addition to containing vitamin B9, Chinese cabbage also contains vitamin B complex including riboflavin and thiamine. It’s just that the content is smaller than vitamin B9. By consuming this Chinese cabbage vegetable, it is hoped that we will be free from heart problems and weaknesses.
– Vitamin C
In addition to containing B9, this vitamin-rich vegetable also contains vitamin C. Its benefits are almost in all body processes, which are very well known for increasing the body’s immunity, preventing diseases such as colds and flu. If we consume only one cup of Chinese leaf, then we already get 52% of the daily recommendation of vitamin C. If we consume 2 cups, it means that we meet our daily requirement of vitamin C. It’s just that we should get vitamin C from various sources. (Also read: How Much Vitamin C Should I Take Daily)
– Vitamin K
In addition to containing vitamins K and B9, it turns out that Chinese leaf also contains vitamin K. Its benefits are increasing bone strength, maintaining a good level of calcium in the bloodstream. If we consume only one cup of Chinese cabbage, then we will get 40% of the daily recommended vitamin K. So, indeed this delicious vegetable is very rich in nutrients and is important as a family vegetable because it offers a lot of nutritional volume. (See too: 30+ Foods That Start With K)
– Vitamin A
Chinese cabbage also contains vitamin A. Unlike the amount of vitamin C and K, the amount of vitamin A in a cup of Chinese leaf is very large. This reaches 63% of the recommended daily requirement. The benefits of vitamin A are not only for eyesight, but are also good for the immune system, also function as anti-oxidants and reproduction. Vitamin A also works well in helping the smooth performance of the heart, lungs and other organs.
– Manganese
Manganese is also found in Chinese Leaf, and the benefit of manganese is to form blood into important clots. It is also strengthens bones, connective tissue, and is good for overall blood. It also plays an important role in good cognitive and nerve function.
– Calcium
Calcium is an important substance for bones, if you consume Chinese leaf, you can also get calcium but in small amounts. One cup of these vegetables will give you 52% vitamin C, 40% vitamin K, 63% vitamin A and 7% of the recommended daily value for calcium. The benefits of calcium are for healthy muscles, bones, and this must be taken from food because calcium is not made by the body.
So, to get calcium nutrition, we must consume foods that are a source of calcium, and one of them is Chinese cabbage.
– Iron
Iron is needed to maintain red blood cell levels so that the body can function properly. The benefits of blood cells are to transport nutrients throughout the body, and carry oxygen throughout the body including the brain so that it can function properly. Oxygen is taken by the blood from the lungs and circulated to all parts of the body, and iron is also important for several types of hormones.
– Potassium
Potassium is an important substance for the body, especially for kidney function. One cup of Chinese leaf contains about 176 mg of potassium. The ratio of the two (with sodium) is 4:1, this is important for the kidneys and fluid retention.
How about protein, does Chinese leaf also contain protein? True, but only a small amount of protein in this leaf. One cup provides only 1.0 gram of protein. One gram of protein only meets 2% of the body’s daily requirement for protein. So, very little protein content, to meet protein needs properly, we must consume other foods such as chicken and others.
What about other nutrients, let’s look at the following description of Chinese leaf nutrition facts.
Chinese Leaf Nutrition Facts
These are the nutrients measured in one cup of Chinese Cabbage:
- Calories 9.1
- Carbohydrates 1.5 g
- Fat 0.1 g
- Fiber 0.7 g – 3%
- Protein 1.0 g
- Vitamin B9 (Folate) 46.2 mcg – 12%
- Vitamin C 31.5 mg – 52%
- K Vitamin 31.8 mcg – 40%
- Vitamin A 3,128 IU – 63%
- Calcium 73.5 mg – 7%
- Potassium 176 mg – 5%
- Iron 0.6 mg – 3%
- Manganese 0.1 mg – 6%
2. Source of antioxidants
Chinese cabbage also has many other advantages because it is a source of many types of antioxidants, including:
- Lutein
- Carotenes
- Zeaxanthin
- Thiocyanates
- Indole-3-carbinol
- Sulforaphene
- Isothiocyanates
Antioxidants are compounds that are important for body health because they work to protect and prevent cell damage caused by free radicals.
Oxidative stress is associated with various frightening diseases such as cancer, liver disease, arthritis, inflammation, weakened immunity and many more.
3. Lower cholesterol
One of the health benefits of Chinese leaf is lowering cholesterol levels in the body. The antioxidant content in this vegetable is useful for managing low-density lipoprotein (LDL) content. So, Chinese cabbage is useful as a healthy diet for those who have problems with cholesterol.
There was a study released in 2018 which showed how this vegetable naturally helps in lowering cholesterol levels and oxidative stress.
4. Lose weight
For those who want to lose weight ask, can Chinese cabbage lose weight?
We replied that Chinese leaf vegetables are good for you because they are rich in fiber. Fiber-rich foods are good for weight loss and Chinese leaf is one of them.
Besides being high in fiber, Chinese leaf is also low in fat and calories. It also has vitamins that are useful in increasing the body’s metabolism so it is good at burning fat. However, only by eating these vegetables, you will not be able to lose weight in a healthy way, of course there must be exercise to help you.
In addition, plant compounds such as those mentioned above, can lower bad cholesterol or LDL and this also supports weight loss.
1 cup of Chinese leaf contains 9.1 calories, this is a very small amount and does not affect your weight gain. So, the health benefits of Chinese cabbage are that it increases the body’s metabolism and lowers the level of bad cholesterol.
5. Good for skin health
Chinese leaf contains natural antioxidants that are beneficial for keeping the body healthy, elements such as beta-carotene and vitamin C naturally help prevent blemishes and clogged pores.
Anti-bacterial and anti-septic properties fight skin infections including acne, eczema. In addition, the benefits of Chinese leaf is to help with discolorations, blemishes, allergies and wrinkles.
Make Chinese cabbage your family’s daily vegetable, this will keep your skin healthy as you age. Consuming it regularly will provide great benefits for skin health.
6. Benefits of Chinese leaf for eye health
This is undeniable, high vitamin A content as we have already mentioned. Where in one cup of Chinese leaf provides vitamin A as much as 63% of daily needs. One of the abundant benefits of vitamin A in Chinese cabbage is preventing vision loss and macular degeneration.
In addition, vitamin A also has other important roles such as increasing the body’s immunity, reducing inflammation and infection.
A diet high in vitamin A is said to prevent cataracts and other things related to vision.
7. Strengthens bones and teeth
We have mentioned above that Chinese leaf is rich in calcium, vitamin A, vitamin K, and vitamin C, all of which are good for bone health. The benefit of vitamin K is that it attracts calcium to the bones, so vitamin K deficiency is said to be associated with low bone density and can increase the risk of fractures.
While the role of vitamin C is also important in the formation of collagen. This is where the mineralization base is built for bone formation. There are scientific studies that show a relationship between vitamin C and bone density.
8. Lowering high blood pressure
The content of potassium and calcium as well as vitamin C in Chinese leaf supports lowering blood pressure, this also includes the presence of folate which works together to prevent hypertension.
Consuming 500 mg of vitamin C a day is beneficial for lowering blood pressure, according to research from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. So, there is a relationship between low potassium intake and high blood pressure.
Harvard Health states that calcium has benefits and one of them is controlling the relaxation of blood vessels so that high blood pressure does not occur.
Also see: Which Foods Have More Vitamin C Than An Orange
9. Good for Heart Health
We have seen in the previous point that Chinese leaf or Napa Cabbage or Chinese cabbage has benefits for lowering cholesterol and blood pressure. So, it means that Chinese leaf vegetables are good for heart health. Low blood pressure means that the heart doesn’t have to pump blood as hard so it doesn’t cause high pressure.
High cholesterol causes the formation of plaque in blood vessels so that blood flow narrows, this triggers high blood pressure. In addition, vitamins A, C and K, calcium, potassium and manganese are essential vitamins and minerals for heart health and well-being.
10. Strengthen the body’s immunity
One of the health benefits of Chinese leaf is that it boosts immunity due to the abundance of vitamin C and vitamin A available. It is also enriched with iron, selenium and zinc. All of this has to do with better immune levels.
The high nutritional content of Chinese cabbage has been linked to the function of immune cells. Where it is stated that a diet low in vegetables such as low consumption of Chinese leaf can suppress or lower immunity.