Eat Your Garnish! – The Value of What It Is That We Are NOT Eating

Among Nutritional experts, there is a lot of emphasis placed upon what we are consuming versus what we ought to avoid in order to maintain a healthy regime. What about consideration for what it is that we are NOT consuming that may in fact have a great deal of nutritional value? What I am referring to are things on our plates that we might not normally consider eating; what we commonly know to be ‘garnish’. Most people don’t realize that garnish functions as more than just decoration. In fact, garnishes quite appropriately accompany most meals. Common garnishes include sprigs of parsley and mint, cilantro, various kales, slices of citrus fruits, and vegetables such as tomatoes and radishes arranged decoratively to the side of our main course. The leafy greens mentioned are superior plants for addressing issues of digestion. It is no mistake that parsley, mint, and cilantro ado
many culinary delights. Parsley and mint are renowned for their actions which are soothing to the digestive system, while cilantro, a member of the carrot family, is less known for its digestive properties. All are what are known as ‘carminatives’, which means that they stimulate the digestive process, soothe the gut wall while reducing inflammation, ease griping pain and indigestion, and relieve flatulence. How convenient then that they grace our plates in the instance that we may have a dire post-meal experience. What’s more, both parsley and mint effectively freshen the breath!

Kale is a dense leafy green that has often been classified as a ‘super food’. Along with the aforementioned title go many healing and preventative properties. Besides the fact that the bitte
ess of kale works to stimulate the flow of digestive juices, kale is rich in manganese as well as beta carotene, which also makes it rich in vitami
A. As a result, kale is an effective antioxidant, preventing diseases of all sorts as well as improving eye health. Kale is also rich in vitami
C, another valuable antioxidant, and an illustrious immune booster. And nothing keeps all systems in check like a good source of fiber. Well, you guessed it; kale is a great source of fiber! Finally, and as if that wasn’t enough, kale provides high levels of calcium, iron, and potassium.

Let’s move on to radishes, shall we? A member of the cabbage family, radishes receive little attention as a digestive food. Nevertheless, radishes efficiently increase the flow of bile in the body, and more bile flow means improved digestion. This is not a surprise since radishes also have a bitter taste, and bitter tasting foods commonly stimulate the flow of bile. Radishes are known to be both antibacterial and anti-fungal. Moreover, they are a good source of vitami
C and potassium.

Another red food, tomatoes are well known for their high content of a carotenoid called lycopene. A carotenoid is a pigment. Similar to the carotenoid beta carotene that makes carrots orange, lycopene is what makes tomatoes red. Lycopene is distinguished for its protection of the prostate gland. Furthermore, lycopene is yet another superior antioxidant, giving it an array of protective qualities for preserving good health in general, and namely in preventing cancers. Enhancing the antioxidating capacity of tomatoes is the fact that they are also a good source of both vitamins A and C.

As a final note on what we seem to be missing out on as we claim to have ‘cleaned our plates’, let me discuss the value of citrus rinds and peels. Most would not consider finishing the whole of the orange – peel and all - that sits twisted every so prettily upon their plate, but let me assure you that there would be definite value in doing so. There is a high content of pectin in the peels of not only citrus fruits, but apples as well. Pectin has commonly been used as a gelling agent for making jams and jellies, but there is more to it than that! Pectin acts as a prebiotic, meaning that it is a precursor for producing the healthy strains of bacteria that habitate and necessitate the successful function of our guts. Pectin also prevents nasty disease promoting organisms known as pathogens from binding to the intestinal walls. The peels of citrus and apples are also tremendously high in vitami
C content, and a high source of fiber, thereby reducing blood cholesterol levels.

As a final note, it is essential to make mention of the importance of eating as natural and organic as possible. In relation to the peels and rinds of fruits especially, the benefits of consuming them may well be annihilated by the fact that they are highly absorbent of herbicides and pesticides commonly used in the commercial production of such produce.