Herbs and Spices

This Little-Known Superfood Ranks Up There with Broccoli for Its Nutritional Power-Punch

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Most people have heard broccoli is healthy, but, like President Bush le Pere, refuse to eat it.

Few people know there’s a brassica (or cruciferous) vegetable that’s just as powerful as broccoli, even against cancer.

And its small green leaves are tasty, not revolting, and the dried powder can easily be added soups, salads and smoothies.

 

It’s moringa (Moringa oleifera). It’s also known as the horseradish or drumstick tree. It comes from northern India, but now grows throughout tropical and subtropical areas of Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Because the tree grows easily and quickly, even in poor soil, many experts believe it could help support the health of poor people in those countries. It’s available in the US as a dried powder, though you could probably grow your own if you live far enough south.

 

Moringa Brings Many Health Benefits

First of all, it contains a large amount of basic, nutritional vitamins and minerals, including:

* Vitamin C

* Protein

* Vitamin B6

* Beta-carotene

* Vitamin B2

* Magnesium

Moringa lowers cholesterol, which should reduce your risk of heart disease.

Moringa contains some powerful antioxidants, including quercetin and chlorogenic acid.

 

Quercetin is getting a lot of attention these days. One company has combined quercetin with a pharmaceutical drug and is selling the combination as a senolytic formula. That is, a substance that shuts down dead, aging cells. Of course, moringa doesn’t contain the drug, but you do get quercetin. By itself, it may lower blood pressure.

Chlorogenic acid helps lower blood sugar levels following a meal.

The leaves of moringa contain beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. They also contain zeatin. Zeatin protects your cells from the aging process by making them more responsive to free radical stress. And it protects your skin.

 

Moringa Promotes Detoxification

Your liver is the main organ responsible for detoxifying your body, and moringa helps it remain healthy.

Moringa supports your body’s manufacture of glutathione, which is the antioxidant that protects your liver against free radicals.

The Beta-Sitosterol in Moringa is Important for Male Prostate Health

Many studies show beta-sitosterol helps control benign prostate enlargement. By binding to your prostate, it reduces inflammation and decreases the urinary symptoms.

Guys, if you’re still young and don’t know what I’m talking about – I advise you begin consuming beta-sitosterol on a consistent basis so you never find out.

 

Beta sitosterol also fights prostate cancer cells. That’s in Petri dishes, not men, but it may well help prevent or control real, live prostate cancer because its health benefits for your prostate are so strong.

By the way, women – it’s also good for balancing menopause symptoms.

And it boosts your immune system, making it more effective against HIV, colds and the flu, bronchitis and tuberculosis. It fights migraines and hair loss.

But Even All That is Not What Makes Moringa a Mega Superfood

 

Broccoli’s major claim to fame is the sulforaphane it contains. That’s an isothiocyanate, and it’s known to help prevent some types of cancer, to stop osteoporosis and lower your risk of heart disease. That’s a lot of health benefit to give up because you have a thing about eating broccoli.

Fortunately, moringa contains its own super isothiocyanate – moringin.

Studies have shown moringin is at least as cytoprotective as sulforaphane. That means it protects your cells against harmful agents, including anything that could make cells turn cancerous.

 

Moringin also acts as an antibiotic, including against H. pylori, the bacteria that causes ulcers. And H. pylori infections can also lead to stomach cancer.

Moringin also helps defeat Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Candida albicans.

In mice studies it’s been protective against multiple sclerosis and ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).

It’s also effective against diabetes and autism. It uses the Nrf2 pathway, which protects your body against many threats.

 

Moringin may lower your blood sugar levels. This is especially important if you are diabetic or prediabetic. The evidence is mainly from animal studies, but if moringin can do anything to blunt how much your blood sugar level spikes after a meal, that’s highly desirable.

Moringa contains yet another flavenoid that science has found protects you against cancer: kaempferol. As an antioxidant, kaempferol protects you against free radicals, and it modulates a lot of cell signaling pathways regarding apoptosis, angiogenesis, inflammation and metastasis.

All of them relate to cancer. You want to promote apoptosis (death of cancerous cells) – and to decrease angiogenesis (the growth of new blood veseels to feed tumors), inflammation and metastasis.

Kaempferol accomplishes all of that.

 

Moringa contains a high amount of conventional nutrition, plus valuable antioxidants and beta-sitosterol.

And moringa contains moringin, a unique isothiocyanate that is as beneficial as broccoli’s more well-known sulforaphane.

You can get all the benefits of eating broccoli, just by adding a tablespoon or so of dried moringa leaves to your daily smoothie.

 

https://www.nutu.net/what-is-moringa-definition

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3601579/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30372361

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5456215/

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-939/beta-sitosterol

https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2005/6/report_prostate/Page-01

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/6-benefits-of-moringa-oleifera#section1

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/07/22/moringa-health-benefits.aspx