Artichoke Health Benefits

Artichoke is a vegetable that is quite healthy and has many nutritional benefits. A serving size of one cup of artichoke, is just 25 calories and no fat or cholesterol grams to it.

One of the richest nutrients in artichoke is potassium. Potassium within one serving of artichoke is over 400 milligrams each! This is excellent since potassium is what keeps us alive. Potassium controls fluid balances, helps the heart beats stabilize, provides muscles with energy, and plays a role in controlling blood pressures.

You will also find that artichoke in a serving provides at least 3 grams of fiber! This is one of the richest vegetables for getting this very essential body nutrient. Fiber provides roughage to the intestines, helping regularity. Fiber also plays a role in the lowering of cholesterol, helps in preventing some cancer types, and up to a certain degree, it does help heart functions.

Artichokes do provide us with some protein at 5.2 grams per cup serving. Protein is essential for muscle strength, and bone support and in fact, protein makes up our building blocks of amino acids.

Magnesium in an artichoke serving totals 52.1 milligrams. Magnesium is a mineral which supports collagen in the bones, helps blood pressure, and also helps metabolize blood sugars in the proper way. Eating artichoke is one good way to get your magnesium in the diet.

Vitamin K in an artichoke totals 21.2 micrograms in each serving. Vitamin K helps aid in proper blood clotting, is preventive for hardening of the arteries, and the vitamin does help to a large degree in the processing of calcium.

There is 8.4 milligrams of vitamin C found in artichoke per serving which is good. Vitamin C is instrumental in building up the immune system, helps in fighting off cancers, and helps to stimulate the collagen of the bones.

Folate is yet another rich nutrient found in an artichoke. There is 200 micrograms of this nutrient in this vegetable, which is a water soluble vitamin, that belongs in the B vitamin category. Folate works to help the processing of homocystine, an amino acid in the body along with the building of red blood cells in the prevention of anemia. Folate has also shown to prevent birth defects in pregnant women.

Phosphorus is contained at 102 milligrams in an artichoke serving. This is the vitamin that along with calcium, which is 35 milligrams in artichoke, builds up bone density and helps in the prevention of osteoporosis.

For some good recipes and ways to fix artichoke, visit artichokes.org, since this site has some good ideas for preparing them.