Also known as salad rocket or garden rocket, arugula is a flavourful, oak-leaf-shaped green with a peppery taste. This vegetable is extremely nutritious and healthy. However, many people have never heard about its surprising health benefits. As this leafy green can easily be grown at home, it can add a powerful health boost to any menu. It also goes pretty well in fresh salads.

Two cups of arugula weighing 40 grams contain approximately 10 calories. It can also provide you 20 percent of vitamin A, over 50 percent of vitamin K, 8 percent of vitamin C, folate, and calcium needed for a day.

In addition to this, the fiber content of arugula supports in promoting digestive regularity, thus keeping your tummy happy as well as leaving you feeling full longer so you can resist other fatty foods.

Let’s find out the great reasons why rocket is so good for you.

Here are 10 Reasons Why You Need to Add Arugula To Your Diet

Cancer Protection

Arugula contains glucosinolates which are potentially beneficial to your health. Once you eat arugula in a salad or other meal, glucosinolates break down into powerful compounds known as isothiocyanates, indoles, and thiocyanates.

According to cancer researchers, indole-3-carbinol, sulforaphane and possibly other indoles and isothiocyanates may prevent cancer development by preventing tumor blood vessel formation and tumor cell migration; inducing apoptosis or cell death in cells that have become cancerous; and lastly, inactivating cancer-causing chemicals and protecting cellular DNA from damage.

The indoles and isothiocyanates in arugula have also been shown to have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral effects.

Calories and Weight Loss

Arugula is great for those who wanted to lose weight as 100 grams of it contains only 25 calories as well as 3.7 grams of carbohydrates.

You can make it a base for your meals or maybe use it to replace fattening grain products like bread and pasta. Also, try mixing into arugula salad the fillings you would often have on a sandwich.

A simple way to boost your nutritional intake and minimizing body fat-storing insulin spikes is by replacing grain-based food that promotes weight gain with arugula and other dark leafy greens. Compared to restrictive dieting, this is a far easier way of keeping the weight off.

High in Vitamin K for Your Heart, Bones, and Skin

This vegetable is rich in vitamin K which is directly involved in calcium regulation and metabolism. It also helps get the mineral into the bones and keep it there.

Around 109 mg of vitamin K can be obtained from consuming 100 grams of arugula. This makes 136% of the recommended daily intake. Low intake of this vitamin can lead to osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease (like coronary artery calcification) and other degenerative diseases later in life.

Furthermore, without enough vitamin K in your diet, calcium can harden the elastin fibers that help keep your skin soft and subtle and in the long-run may cause skin aging and wrinkles.

Folate and B Vitamins

Arugula helps prevent birth defects in pregnant women as it contains 97 mcg of folate or 24% of the recommended daily intake. Folate is involved in red blood cell creation and serotonin production. The dark leafy greens like arugula are the best sources of folate. It is also studied for its preventive effects in combatting diabetes, heart diseases, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Aside from this, except for B12, most varieties of good B vitamins are all found in arugula.

Eye Nutrients in Arugula

Lutein and zeaxanthin — two special eye antioxidants – are found in good levels in arugula. These phytonutrients are concentrated in the macula region of your eye. They help protect the macula from both UV light and high-intensity blue light that causes vision problems and eyestrain.

Rich in Chlorophyll

Green leafy vegetables like arugula are an excellent source of alkalizing and detoxifying chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is like the green blood of plant leaves. It actually resembles our own blood. It is known as an excellent blood cleanser and oxygenator.

With the help of dark leafy greens or chlorophyll-rich green smoothies, you can achieve that strong detoxification process throughout your body. People who include more high chlorophyll foods like arugula into their meals have noticed an increase in energy levels.

Vitamin C

The vitamin C content of arugula has an important role to play in skin health and protects your cardiovascular system. You can obtain 25% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C by consuming 100 grams of these pepper flavored leaves.

Minerals

The dark green leaves contain helpful amounts of iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, and phosphorus. It is also high in natural calcium, which at 160 mg per 100 grams goes well with its naturally high vitamin K content.

Arugula For More Exciting Bedtime Activity

While arugula isn’t high in obvious nutrients for increasing libido, its overall health benefits may just add a little extra energy to your love life if you eat it regularly.

Antioxidant Health Benefits

Arugula is a good source of the antioxidant carotenoids like beta-carotene. It prevents free radical damage to the cells in your body.

Alongside with all of its other benefits, arugula has an ORAC rating of 1904 µmol TE per 100 grams and is considered a high antioxidant food. The beta-carotene in arugula is nearly half of the recommended daily intake.

A Few Reminders:

Find fresh arugula in the market. It must be that younger bright green leaves. In order to avoid sprays, always try and get organic arugula. But if you can’t find organic, it is recommended to soak the leaves in hot water and a splash of apple cider vinegar or any edible vinegar to clean them. Minimize any residues before eating them.

With the number of potentially carcinogenic substances in our foods, drinks, and environment these days, eating a lot of superfoods like arugula must be our priority.