Do you know what leeks are?
Just similar to onions and garlic etc, the leeks also belong to the Allium family and are important vegetables. It must be noted that the edible part of leek is the bundle of leaf sheath called stem or stalk. It is believed consuming leeks would boost our health to a huge extent. This is due to the presence of ingredients like dietary fibres, vitamins A, C, and K plus minerals like iron and manganese, antioxidants plus others etc.
Various health benefits of intake of leeks are
Rich in nutrients:
There are many nutrients present in leeks such as vitamins, minerals, fibres and antioxidants etc and these would help in our overall health to be good. Intake of leeks would boost our immune system and support many bodily functions etc.
High in antioxidants:
It must be noted that leeks have flavonoids, polyphenols etc that act as a powerful antioxidant in the body. Point is that these antioxidants would neutralise harmful free radicals, reduce oxidative stress, lower inflammation and reduce the chances of getting chronic diseases etc.
Good for digestion:
By consuming leeks rich in dietary fibres, we would have regular bowel movements. This would help us to avoid constipation issues. It must be taken into account that fibre content would help us to maintain healthy gut microbiota and would support beneficial bacteria growth.
Improves heart health:
Compounds like allicin present in leek would lower the blood pressure and this would in turn reduce the risk of heart disease etc. The inflammation in the blood vessels would reduce due to the anti-inflammatory properties of leek. It must be noted that the sulphur compounds in leeks would improve cholesterol levels in us.
Anticancer properties:
It is noteworthy that the presence of sulphur compounds and quercetin etc in leek has anti-cancer properties in them. They would inhibit the growth of cancer cells and promote programmed cell deaths or aptosis. There would be reduction in the spreading of cancer cells.
Regulates blood sugar:
Our blood sugar levels would get stabilized by the fibre content that is present in leeks. Especially for those persons with diabetes or high sugar levels, intake of leeks would be superb.
Improves bone health:
The minerals like calcium and manganese etc present in leeks would improve our bone health. This would prevent issues like osteoporosis etc. Point is that the presence of vitamin K in leeks would help in calcium absorption and bone metabolism etc in us.
