The Long List of Eggplant’s Health Benefits

Related to other nightshades such as potatoes, bell peppers and tomatoes, it’s plain to see that eggplants are some of the most unique looking and tasting vegetables on the planet. Prized for their beauty and nutritive content, eggplants are also known as aubergines in France.

Most eggplants you see on the market are elongated although some varieties are shaped like pears or eggs. The size ranges anywhere from a small tomato to a humungous zucchini. While many come in deep purple, eggplants also come in an assortment of other colors like orange, jade green and yellow-white.

Thanks to the firmness and texture of eggplants, they can be easily incorporated into your diet. They may be fried, grilled, boiled, baked, steamed and pickled. They may even be stuffed as well as mashed to serve as dip ingredients. With the assortment of ways that they may be served, the versatility of eggplants is quite apparent.

Reasons why you should enjoy eggplants more come aplenty. This is especially true when the nutritive contents of these eye-catching nightshade vegetables are taken into account. The following is a list of benefits offered by eggplants:

Eggplants are Packed with Fiber

Fiber is important in promoting regular bowel movement. The inclusion of eggplants as well as other fiber-rich fruits and vegetables in your daily diet helps ward off constipation and maintain regular flushing out of digestive waste products. Diet rich in fiber, according to health authorities, helps considerably reduce your risk of colon cancer.

Consuming Eggplants is Good for Weight-Watchers

A cup of eggplant contains only 35 calories. Eggplants contain no fat that can make your waistline expand and your arteries clogged up. Packed with fiber, eggplants make you feel full immediately and for a longer period of time, saving you from overeating and hunger pangs — things that can wreak havoc to your figure.

They Contain Health-Giving Phytonutrients

Phytonutrients are plant-based compounds having antioxidant properties. Eggplants contain phytonutrients that help protect the cells from free-radical damage. Phyto nutrients benefit the health in a dizzying assortment of ways, from protecting the brain cells to improving blood circulation. Opt for ways to consume eggplants with the skin on because that’s where those health-giving nutrients can be found!

Eggplants Help Slow Down Skin Aging

There are numerous all-natural anti-aging solutions out there and one of the simplest (and most mouthwatering) of them all is the consumption of eggplants. A cup of eggplants contains 0.4 milligrams of vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that helps maintain healthy cells and delay skin aging signs.

They Give You Energy

Packed with healthy complex carbohydrates, eating eggplants allows you to have the energy you need for a productive day. There are also B-vitamins in eggplants, nutrients that help convert starch, protein and fats into energy for the body.

Eggplants Help Promote Healthy Brain

Folate in eggplant is known to keep the brain young and healthy. According to studies, this nutrient is beneficial for the brain as it helps slow down the effects of aging of the neurons. What’s more, the consumption of eggplants is good for pregnant women and the growing babies in them. Folate helps in the appropriate formation of both brain and spinal cord in a developing fetus.

Consuming Eggplants Gives You Sufficient Vitamin K

Vitamin K helps in the regulation of blood clotting, considerably reducing your risk of stroke. The nutrient also helps keep the bones strong by helping to maintain bone density. Having eggplants on a regular basis may help prevent osteoporosis, a condition in which the bones become fragile and brittle. Vitamin K also has immune system-boosting properties.

Their Regular Consumption Helps Lower Cholesterol

As earlier mentioned, eggplants are packed with fiber. Fiber is known to help in lowering the body’s LDL (low-density lipoprotein) or bad cholesterol levels by preventing the absorption of fats in the diet. Eggplants also contain niacin or vitamin B3, a nutrient that helps increase the levels of HDL (high-density lipoprotein) or good cholesterol to offset the levels of bad cholesterol in the blood.

Eggplants Help Heal Inflammation

One of the minerals found in eggplants is manganese. The health benefits of manganese come aplenty, and one of them is the management of inflammation. Individuals suffering from arthritic pain may benefit from the consumption of eggplants as manganese helps increase the level of superoxide dismutase or SOD, an anti-inflammatory agent.