Parsley benefits

Parsley is delicious on scrambled eggs and excellent if you bruise easily; one of the richest sources of vitamin K, and lutein and zeaxanthin that prevent blindness.

It's also a good source of choline, the B vitamin deeply involved in birth defects and dementia; but because we eat it in such small amounts, it doesn't yield a significant amount. It all helps though because the typical Western diet has less than 50% of this very important substance.

It's first cousin, cilantro, the green leaf of coriander, is even better. 

They're not widely known. Yes, as a garnish perhaps, but in reality that should be the least and last of parsley's uses. It's acclaimed as the most widely used herb but, going by the feasts that I frequent, most of it ends up in the trash, I suspect.

Do you really think the carnivore who ordered the huge steak below also ate the garnish? I doubt it.

Bruising is caused when the blood does not immediately coagulate. It is of course quite normal to have a hematoma, as it's known, after an injury but, if you are purple and yellow for the least reason, you almost certainly have a vitamin K deficiency; our friendly herb is one of the richest sources.

Parsley is really so easy to grow; in a pot, or just in your garden. Choose a sunny spot, and give it plenty of water. It's a rich feeder, so make sure your have oodles of compost, and well rotted manure if you want giant healthy plants.

Sprinkle the seed you have purchased in the spring, and make sure the ground remains damp until they have shot proper leaves.

In the autumn, leave a few stems which will go to seed. Harvest some for the spring, and allows some to seed themselves. In no time you'll have more than enough plants.

The man in the family must grow the parsley; if the good wife can rear it in profusion, she wears the pants; she who must be obeyed.

Parsley benefits

Parsley benefits reminds us it's one of the most underrated herbs.

"The United States grows more parsley than any other country but over a half of it is discarded from their garnished plates. Folk don't know that it produces one of the most seductive body odors in our perspiration known to man; and for both male and female."

Dr Max Lake

The phenomenal power of parsley.

The phenomenal power of parsley is that you are unlikely to get a bruise like this except from major trauma; the vitamin K is a strong anti coagulant.

"He did not care a stalk of parsley if I wandered all night upon the hills!"

Robert Louis Stevenson (Travels with a donkey)

In a pot, or in the ground?

In a pot, or in the ground is a good question. Both are excellent and give you more versatility.

Parsley benefits points out it's not just a garnish; it's delicious and excellent if you bruise easily.

Here, 'She who must be obeyed' has beautiful plants coming up in our garden; in a couple months we'll have a feast of parsley benefits.

• Exercise and Cholesterol ...
• Olive Garden salad recipe ...
  

Here they are just a few weeks later, and that after the slugs got into them one misty, wet night. Somebody told them about all the androgens in parsley...!

Interesting that parsley is their number one choice in our garden; perhaps that's why there are so many of them. 

Scrambled eggs

Scrambled eggs and parsley benefits is one of my first choices for breakfast.

A rich sprinkling of freshly chopped parsley really makes a scrambled eggs dish. Wash and finely chop a couple of sprigs, removing the thicker stalks.

Scramble up some eggs, and spread the bits thickly over the eggs just before they are done.

Surprisingly, you'll find it's delicious. The best reason to eat parsley is not because of it's rich source of vitamin K or it's folate; not because it's a tantalising garnish, but because it tastes so cool. Be patient with your tongue, it takes time to retrain it from the delights of sugar, fat and protein rich foods.

Slow food is an acquired taste; it will, of course, add 10 to 20 quality years to your life.

Eggs are naturally high in cholesterol; I love them but they do need to be eaten in moderation unless you are banting.

Because of the naturally high B12 in eggs and the folic acid in the parsley, you needn't be anxious about the build up of toxic homocysteine from a high animal protein meal.

See the effect, too, of exercise on cholesterol; along with a high fibre, salad, veggie and fruit diet, animal fat should hold no fears for you. Avoid the statins; instead enjoy our olive garden salad recipe with plenty of olive oil.

Tabbouleh bulgar wheat is, after parsley scrambled eggs, my favourite parsley dish. If you already have the bulgar, it's dead easy to make; it's the best solution to your raised cholesterol.

Along with fish, red wine, garlic, eggplant, we will explain better  and tastier ways that are cheaper with none of the statin side effects of irritable legs; need more convincing?

And then of course parsley is one of the main ingredients in any chickpea garbanzo bean dip, also known as hummus. Make it in only 4 minutes. I make huge tubs twice a week. Dirt cheap and no preservatives.

Why at Chiropractic Help? Because when I need to bully a patient, they may have a bruise or two. Particularly in the treatment of upper leg pain, if the adductor magnus or the pectineus is in spasm, I may leave a bruise or two; sometimes three.

Macular degeneration

Prevention of macular degeneration is another good reason to enjoy parsley benefits on a regular basis.

Parsley and even more so its first cousin cilantro are very rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, two carotenoids found in extremely high concentration in the lens and macula of the eye; they absorbe damaging high frequency radiation that destroys the cones that give fine discrimination and colour definition.

Some five million Americans are blind from a deficiency of these phytochemicals.

• Zeaxanthin macular degeneration

Flavones

Flavones are bioflavonoids not frequently found in fruit and vegetables; two common compounds are luteolin and apigenin, and interestingly they are found in large amounts in parsley and celery.

Parsley nutrition is complex biochemistry, but we really don't need to understand it. By simply eating from a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, whole grains and legumes we can enjoy the health benefits of these hugely diverse group of substances classified as bioflavonoids.

I make sure that I have a few sprigs of parsley or cilantro daily in my salad; they grow like weeds in the summer and can easily be frozen.

Eggplant and avocado

Eggplant and avocado are two of my favourites; we enjoy them every week in season; I nearly said every day, but that would be an exaggeration.

Parsley is such a versatile herb, used in many different dishes. I like it fresh, very finely chopped, on an avocado salad. Read here about probably the healthiest fruit, along with the olive: AVOCADO BENEFITS ...

Eggplant, known in Europe as aubergine and brinjal in the world where the Indian culture has had an effect, is something of an acquired taste. It's used in Middle Eastern and the subcontinent cuisine extensively for it's subtle flavour and cholesterol-lowering properties.

Baby brinjals are dynamite with garlic and chillies, but ratatouille is very benign and easy to cook with plenty of added parsley. Then of course there is our favourite Baba Ghannoush and yet more Eggplant recipes; after hummus eggplant is one of nature's best for lower cholesterol.

• Fish Soup for lower cholesterol.

Authentic hummus recipe

This is a widely enjoyed Mediterranean dish, rich in parsley benefits. It's not liked in Western countries because manufacturers dose it with preservatives and other nasty stuff; it goes off within a couple days. Those chemicals give it an unpleasant taste. But our authentic hummus recipe is so simple to make.

But homemade hummus is the most delicious and healthy foods; it takes me only five minutes to whip it up.

It has two huge benefits; firstly it's a vegetable protein enabling you to reduce your reliance on red meat for protein. And secondly it will turn even the dullest salad into a meal fit for a king.

You will have to find some perhaps unusual ingredients; chickpeas and tahini, cumin and fresh lemon and of course the parsley.

Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is one of my favourite, healthy Mediterranean dishes; if have a handful of parsley benefits and mint readily available, and ripe tomatoes you can scramble it up in a jiffy. If you don't have bulgar, then just enjoy it on low GI bread.

But parsley benefits is the main ingredient.

• Tabbouleh Bulgar Wheat
• Chickpea garbanzo bean dip (hummus)
• Upper leg pain
• CHOLESTEROL ALCOHOL ...

If your cholesterol is raised, then our authentic hummus recipe is a must in your kitchen. Make it in only five minutes; apples, hummus and oats need to be daily on our menus.

Growing green beans

Growing green beans is so simple.

As a gardener, I always say that pole beans, radishes and spinach are the easiest to grow. Each has it's virtues that you can establish using the site search in the main menu on your left.

Parsley doesn't have any protein. You can sprinkle your steak,  and scrambled eggs with parsley... but how about a bean dish? Nothing easier than growing pole beans, a bean salad with parsley benefits, onion and lemon juice is without equal. GROWING GREEN BEANS ...

Useful LINKS

• Tabbouleh is full of tomato. Every man shall eat - it's compulsory! - a tomato a day. Why? TOMATO PROSTATE ...
• The best source of fibre for the colon is BEETROOT constipation ...
• Did you know that raised CHOLESTEROL can cause pain in your leg? INTERMITTENT CLAUDICATION ...
• SACROILIAC JOINT INFLAMMATION ... parsley is full of B6, the anti inflammation vitamin.
• Go from parsley benefits to recipe for tabouli tabouleh