What Does Swiss Chard Do for the Body? 10 Benefits, 4 Side Effects

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Swiss chard is a powerhouse of nutrients that offers these ten health benefits.

Swiss chard, like many other leafy greens, is loaded with nutrients, vitamins, and phytochemicals. It is regarded as a powerhouse of flavonoid antioxidants, vitamins, calcium, and iron. One cup of Swiss chard contains 60 percent of your daily vitamin A requirements, making it excellent for vision, skin, and eye health.

Some studies report that Swiss chard is notably beneficial in the treatment of menstruation cramps and migraines.

Learn ten important health benefits of Swiss chard below.

10 important benefits of Swiss chard

Ten important health benefits of Swiss chard include:

1. Helps manage diabetes:
   • One of the most important benefits of Swiss chard is its capacity to manage and stabilize blood sugar levels.
   • Swiss chard includes alpha-lipoic acid, an antioxidant that helps boost sensitivity to blood sugar–managing hormones and preventing oxidative stress-induced alterations in people with diabetes.
   • It aids in the treatment of peripheral neuropathy and autonomic neuropathy.
2. Boosts brain power and prevents dementia:
   • Swiss chard is high in potassium and vitamin K, both of which are essential for cerebral development.
   • When you eat Swiss chard, you are feeding your “little grey cells” and improving your mental function because it includes natural nitrates, which help increase blood flow to the brain.
   • Because of its high beta-carotene concentration, Swiss chard is recognized to help prevent dementia in the elderly.
3. Maintains good heart health:
   • This vegetable's anti-inflammatory components, phytonutrients, and antioxidants work together to help lower blood pressure and indirectly improve the functioning of your cardiovascular system.
   • Furthermore, potassium in Swiss chard helps maintain appropriate blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which has a direct effect on how your heart, liver, and digestive system perform.
4. Strengthens bones:
   • Swiss chard contains a significant amount of calcium, which makes it a superfood for good, strong bones. Moreover, as a rich source of vitamin K, it helps strengthen weak bones, and regular consumption of Swiss chard is known to be able to prevent osteoporosis.
5. Lowers the risk of anemia:
   • Iron deficiency is one of the most common causes of anemia, which is characterized by fatigue, weakness, stomach problems, difficulty concentrating, and other symptoms.
   • Swiss chard is high in iron and copper, both of which are required for healthy red blood cells.
6. Helps destroy cancer cells:
   • Swiss chard, like many other leafy greens, has anti-cancer qualities due to high levels of vitamins E and C, zinc, beta-carotene, quercetin, and other essential elements.
   • It assists to prevent many types of cancer, and Swiss chard is especially beneficial to people with colon cancer.
   • The high amount of phytonutrients, which are especially significant in the prevention of liver, skin, colon, prostate, ovarian, pancreatic, breast, and lung cancer, contributes to the ability to destroy cancer cells.
7. Improves circulation:
   • Swiss chard includes a high concentration of trace minerals, which are essential for a healthy endothelium (inner lining of blood vessels), healthy blood vessels, and cardiac regulation.
   • Swiss chard helps improve blood vessel constriction, blood pressure, and nerve communication.
8. Prevents eye disease:
   • Because these nutrients can prevent and treat many chronic eye disorders, a diet high in vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and zinc can naturally prevent macular degeneration.
   • The wonderful part is that if you incorporate Swiss chard into your diet, you will be able to prevent many eye problems.
9. Keeps your hair healthy:
   • Because your body needs to stay hydrated throughout the day, your diet should be rich in vitamins and minerals, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables, for shiny, strong, and healthy hair.
   • The health of your hair is heavily reliant on biotin (commonly known as B7), an organic compound found in Swiss chard. Swiss chard is one of the best natural providers of this vitamin.
10. Healthy liver:
    • Because of its flavonoid content, Swiss chard has a high antioxidant capability.
    • This contributes to the anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic characteristics of the compound.
    • As a result, Swiss chard is a prospective therapeutic agent in clinical studies for reducing nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity.

Is Swiss chard bad for me?

Four potential side effects of Swiss chard include:

1. Kidney stone:
   • Swiss chard contains oxalates that may increase urinary oxalate excretion and predispose some individuals to calcium oxalate stones.
   • As a result, anyone with kidney stones should avoid Swiss chard because oxalates may increase symptoms in certain people.
2. Cooking degrades nutrients:
   • After boiling Swiss chard for 10 minutes, the vitamin C content is reduced by 80 percent. Under modified environment packing, vitamin C degrades as well, but there is no effect on flavonoid concentration. If you want to reap the most benefits from Swiss chard, eat it uncooked.
3. Blood clotting:
   • People who take blood thinners should avoid eating Swiss chard because it includes a lot of vitamin K, which plays an important role in blood clotting.
4. Allergy:
   • People who are allergic to grass pollen should avoid eating Swiss chard because inhaling vapor from boiling Swiss chard causes rhinoconjunctivitis and asthma.

Swiss chard should be used in moderation to avoid side effects.

Things to know about Swiss chard

• With its vivid and multicolored stems, Swiss chard is one of the most eye-catching greens at the farmers' market. Its stalks are comparable to spinach and beets and can be eaten uncooked.
• Swiss chard's flavor is regarded as earthy and similar to spinach. It is low in sodium, making it an excellent choice for a vegetarian diet. Because of its high mineral content, it is ideal for soups, stews, and casseroles.