Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2014/January 2015 | Page 101

FOOD

K

ale and carrots. They are just
two of the foods you can rely
on during the winter months
to help keep you fit and healthy,
according to numerous studies and
reports.
Kale has been described generally
as the iron-packed super food with
the super taste. It can provide you
with some special cholesterollowering benefits if you cook it
by steaming. The fibre-related
components in kale do a better job
of binding together with bile acids
in your digestive tract when they've
been steamed. Raw kale still has
cholesterol-lowering ability—just not
as much.
Kale's risk-lowering benefits for
cancer have recently been extended
to at least five different types of
cancer, including cancer of the
bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and
prostate.
Kale is also recognised as
providing comprehensive support
for the body's detoxification system.
With kaempferol and quercetin
heading the list, kale's flavonoids
combine both antioxidant and

anti-inflammatory benefits in a way
that gives kale a leading dietary role,
with respect to avoidance of chronic
inflammation and oxidative stress.
Carrots, meanwhile, are packed
with vitamin A, and the crunchy
orange power-food is said to have
a host of powerful health benefits
including beautiful skin, cancer
prevention, and anti-ageing.
Carrots can also improve eye
sight - it’s not just a myth because
you have never seen a rabbit
wearing glasses! Carrots are rich in
beta-carotene, which is converted
into vitamin A in the liver. Vitamin
A is transformed in the retina,
to rhodopsin, a purple pigment
necessary for night vision.
Studies have also shown carrots
reduce the risk of lung cancer,
breast cancer and colon cancer. The
high level of beta-carotene acts
as an antioxidant to cell damage
done to the body through regular
metabolism, so helps slow down the
ageing of cells. They have also been
linked with helping prevent heart
disease and strokes.

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