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Bok Choy

crohnsinct

Well-known member
HOLD THE BACON!

Bok choy is being recognized more and more often for its standout nutrient richness. This member of the cabbage family is one of our highest nutritionally ranked vegetables and it provides good, very good, or excellent amounts of 21 nutrients. Unlike some other members of the cabbage family, these ranked nutrients include omega-3s, as well as the antioxidant mineral zinc.

Recent studies have identified over 70 antioxidant phenolic substances in bok choy. These phenolic antioxidants included numerous hydroxycinnamic acids, which have often been referred to as "chain-breaking" antioxidants due to their method of scavenging free radicals. In this context, bok choy has also been included in some current and ongoing large-scale human studies about dietary antioxidants and cancer prevention.

Because of its strong beta-carotene content, bok choy ranks as the 11th richest food in vitamin A. This vitamin A richness places bok choy ahead of some of its fellow cruciferous vegetables, including cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli. Significant amounts of other carotenoids—for example, lutein—are also provided by bok choy.


Bok Choy, steamed
1.00 cup
(170.00 grams)

Calories: 20
GI: very low


NutrientDRI/DV


vitamin K64%

vitamin C59%

vitamin A40%

potassium18%

folate17%

calcium16%

vitamin B616%

manganese12%

iron10%

vitamin B28%

fiber7%

phosphorus7%

protein5%

magnesium5%

choline5%

vitamin B35%

vitamin B14%

zinc3%

omega-3 fats3%

copper3%

pantothenic acid3%

Health Benefits

Antioxidant Benefits

As an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin A (in the form of carotenoids), and manganese, and a good source of zinc, bok choy provides us with a concentration of these core conventional antioxidants. Yet, its antioxidant support extends beyond these conventional antioxidants to a wide range of other phytonutrient antioxidants. These phytonutrients include flavonoids like quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin, as well as numerous phenolic acids (including significant amounts of hydroxycinnamic acids). It's important to understand the unique benefits provided by this diverse array of antioxidants. Different types of antioxidants function in different ways. While all types are helpful in preventing unwanted oxygen damage to our cells and body systems, different types of antioxidants go about this task in different ways, and it is the combination of these types in cruciferous vegetables—including bok choy—that make them so valuable in terms of their antioxidant support. (It is also a key reason why whole, natural foods like fresh bok choy provide you with benefits that antioxidant supplements cannot.)

Anti-Inflammatory Benefits

Many of the antioxidant nutrients listed above also provide anti-inflammatory benefits. They not only lower the risk of oxygen-based damage to your cells and body systems, but they also lower your risk of unwanted chronic inflammation. While it is a good thing for your body's inflammatory system to respond promptly to dangers or actual damage, it is not a good thing for it to continuously trigger inflammatory responses when there is not danger or actual damage. Anti-inflammatory phytonutrients in bok choy help prevent this type of continuous and unwanted inflammation from occurring. Yet in addition to these phytonutrients, bok choy also provides you with two additional anti-inflammatory nutrients. The first of these nutrients are omega-3s. Bok choy ranks as a good source of omega-3s in our rating system due to its significant amount of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). About 70 milligrams of ALA are found in one cup of cooked bok choy. While this amount does not put bok choy anywhere close to the top of the omega-3 plant vegetable list, it does qualify bok choy as being about one-half as concentrated in omega-3s as walnuts on a calorie-for-calorie basis. We have yet to see research on bok choy's omega-3 content and inflammation, but we would expect this kind of research to show bok choy omega-3s as being helpful in lowering risk of unwanted inflammation.

Another anti-inflammatory nutrient provided by bok choy is vitamin K. Bok choy ranks in the Top 15 vitamin K-rich foods and is an excellent source of this fat-soluble vitamin. While best know for its role in bone health and blood clotting, vitamin K has also been shown to help regulate our body's inflammatory responses, especially in relationship to our cardiovascular system.

Other Health Benefits

Bok choy has been included in human studies of cruciferous vegetables that have shown decreasing risk of certain cancers when these vegetables were consumed on a frequent basis, usually involving one or more daily servings. At least part of this protection has been associated with the glucosinolate content of the cruciferous vegetables, including bok choy. (Glucosinolates are unique sulfur-containing compounds that have been shown to have cancer-protective properties.) However, we have yet to see a study exclusively focused on bok choy in comparison to its fellow cruciferous vegetables, and we suspect that it would rank on the lower end in terms of its glucosinolate-related benefits since it contains a significantly lower amount of these sulfur-containing compounds than other vegetables in the cruciferous family like Brussels sprouts or mustard greens.
 

crohnsinct

Well-known member
You can stir fry it, roast it etc.

Tomorrow, I am making a Bok Choy Slaw. You can serve it with a grilled meat, poultry or fish. I toss in toasted almonds for my non animal eating family. Could also cut up some apple sticks and throw those in. The possibilities are endless.

1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons sugar (I use honey instead)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (you could just cut up some mustard greens and throw those in instead of the mustard...too bad we ate all ours last night)
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 cups very thinly sliced bok choy, (about a 1-pound head, trimmed)
2 medium carrots, shredded
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Here is a salad recipe (similar to above) that I hear is very good. Too much sugar for me and those noodles are highly processed!


1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/3 cup white sugar

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 bunches baby bok choy, cleaned and sliced

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/8 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1/2 (6 ounce) package chow mein noodles
 
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