Water spinach or Swamp Cabbage is a healthy vegetable that is known all over the world. This leafy green usually growth in the tropics, and subtropics area like pacific islands, southeast Asia. This vegetable planting medium is an aqueous or moist soil. Different regions also have the different name for this plant. For example in Indonesia and Vietnam called “Kang kung”, Kang kong (Thailand), Kankun, Water spinach (UK), Weng Cai (China), Water morning glory, River spinach, Water Convolvulus, Swamp cabbage, Chinese spinach and others.
Water Spinach usually cooked as delicious and spicy foods, these foods often found in various restaurants in Indonesia, Malaysia and even Vietnam. The green vegetable that has scientific name Ipomoea Aquatica is very easily to cultivated, so the price is very cheap in market. The water spinach include the choice foods for many people, in addition to its delicious taste, it also contains many nutrients that need by the body.
Among the nutritional content in this leafy green is vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, phosphorus, iron, fiber, selenium, amino acids, and calcium. With many nutrients such, Kang kong has enormous health benefits. Here are some health benefits of water spinach.
Health Benefits of Water Spinach
1. Overcoming insomnia
Kang kong is a healthy vegetable that can prevent insomnia. Note, its contains sedatives elements, it mean that water spinach can make people sleepy and make it able to sleep soundly. This is due to selenium and zinc that contained therein can make nerve loose and relaxed.
2. Prevent constipation, Anti-Poison
This Chinese vegetables have detoxifying properties, making it useful to relieve ulcer pain, to skin care. In addition, water spinach can also relieve constipation because it contains high levels of fiber.
3. Contain iron
Furthermore, the green vegetable is a source of iron. So, eat this because the iron content within is very much. This ong choy provides approximately 2.5 mg iron per 100 grams, so it is good to increase hemoglobin and prevents anemia.
Iron is an important mineral for pregnant women, by consuming water spinach leaves every day, the production of red blood cells will prevent several health conditions including preventing anemia that is often experienced by pregnant women.
4. Anti-diabetes Mellitus
Its invasive plants also good for diabetes. Eating this leafy green is good for people with blood sugar because the substances can absorb the excess blood sugar.
5. Increasing immunity
Its also called as Ong Choy, he is high in vitamins C, it mean that health benefits are very large for immunity. So, water spinach can be a deterrent against influenza. Even said, that the content of vitamin C in spinach are more than the vitamins in fruits.
Other vegetables:
6. Maintain healthy vision
In addition to vitamin C, water spinach is also very high in vitamin A, vitamin A is important for eye nutrition. Vitamin A is an antioxidant that is useful to counteract free radical attack on the cornea of eye. To avoid eye damage symptoms, you should consume vitamin A in huge number, including vitamin A in water spinach.
7. Anti intestinal parasites
The water spinach benefit is eradicate parasites in the gut. Who consumed raw water spinach can issue Fasciolopsis buski, the parasitic worms in the gut of humans and animals that can cause fasciolopsiasis.
8. Pregnant women
Pregnant women are highly recommended to eat water spinach. Water spinach is a cheap vegetable but not cheap, the benefits are very large for health. This is truly a God-given blessing. We can find it easily, and the efficacy is very large in preventing various types of cancer and is also good for preventing anemia.
Overall, the benefits of water spinach for pregnant women are very good in preventing anemia and providing energy and sufficient nutritional value for babies.
9. Water spinach benefits to liver
According to the study, eating water spinach could prevent liver damage. This is attributed to the effect of chemical compounds in spinach that contribute to the modulation of detoxification enzymes and antioxidants as well as the effects of free radicals.
10. Reduces Cholesterol
Eating water spinach can be an alternative in lowering cholesterol in the blood. A study conducted on mice proved that water spinach can lower triglycoside and cholesterol. So, these green vegetables play a major role in maintaining healthy blood from the content of bad cholesterol.
You can eat kangkong in salads or by making vegetables. We love stir-fry water spinach with a little olive oil.
11. Protects the heart
The health benefits of water spinach also play a role in protecting heart health. If he can lower cholesterol, of course this food will also keep the heart because one of the heart problems is from high cholesterol levels in the blood.
In addition, water spinach also contains vitamins A and C and high beta carotene. It is an antioxidant that is useful for fighting free radicals in the body thereby preventing the oxidation of cholesterol.
It is important to know that oxidized cholesterol sticks to blood vessels, this causes clogged arteries, then causes heart disease, stroke and even hypertension. In addition, water spinach also contains folate and one of the benefits of folate is to convert homocysteine substances (chemicals that can harm the heart). There is also a magnesium content that is useful in maintaining good blood pressure.
12. Prevention of Cancer
Water spinach or Ong Choy is not only delicious on the tongue, but this food also has great benefits in preventing cancer. So, one of the best health benefits of water spinach is to prevent cancer. It is loaded with 13 different types of antioxidants and all work together to neutralize (cancer-causing) free radicals.
Among the cancers that can be prevented by water spinach is skin cancer, breast and colorectal cancer.
These are some benefits of water spinach that need to eat for our health benefits. Water Spinach is easy to get, and the price is cheap. You should make Water spinach as a family favorite vegetable.
