Arty Artichokes

The artichoke - one of the prettiest yet most intimidating vegetables that I know. Nevertheless, if you get yourself past the preparation you have one of the healthiest foods that earth has provided.

Artichokes are actually flowers that haven’t had the chance to bloom yet. If left to bloom, they carry purple flowers. A single plant can produce 20 or more artichokes per year.

Artichokes have health properties that significantly improve a variety of health conditions:

• Improvement in blood glucose levels in diabetic patients

• Inhibits liver cell damage and thereby having an antioxidative effect

• Prevents damage of the arteries by lowering cholesterol levels

• Can improve nausea

• The inulin is a vehicle for probiotics improving function of the gut

• Artichokes help to prevent secretion of cancer forming agents and thereby has a protective effect against cancer

• They aid in digestive health

Below you'll see a few more health properties as well as the different parts of the artichoke plant. We'll see later this week how to prepare and eat this wonderful plant. For now, you can familiarise yourself with the artsy artichoke.

Resource:

Ben Salem, M. et al. 2015. Pharmacological studies of artichoke leaf extract and their health benefits. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, Volume 70, Issue 4, pp 441–453