Exceptional Health Benefits Of Eating A Keto Coleslaw
The bottom line
Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable. Cruciferous vegetables are rich in nutrients, including vitamins C, E, and K, folate and minerals, and they are a good fiber source. A diet rich in potassium helps to offset some of sodium's harmful effects on blood pressure. Before you fully commit to following a keto diet, consult your doctor first.
This is general information, not medical advice. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.
Key takeaways
- If you take blood thinners, you need to be careful about how much vitamin K you get.
- If you have chronic kidney disease, your kidneys may not remove extra potassium from the blood.
- Most Americans eat too much sodium and too little potassium.
- There is extensive evidence that people who eat more vegetables and fruits have lower risks of chronic diseases.
Contrary to popular belief, losing weight doesn’t require you to skip meals or eat less. An effective weight loss plan is about consuming types of food that contain the right nutrients in the right portions. This is the way to lose weight without putting your health at risk.
Following a keto diet is an excellent method to lose weight effectively. This eating plan focuses on food that contains healthy fat, moderate amounts of protein, and minimum carbohydrates.
If you’re planning to follow a keto diet to jumpstart your weight loss journey, learn how to make a keto coleslaw. This is a low-carb, creamy, colorful, and easy to prepare side dish, perfect for BBQs and high-fat meat dishes. You just need a few ingredients and spend no more than ten minutes to prepare this dish, and you’re good to go!
Aside from requiring simple and healthy ingredients, a keto coleslaw can also provide the following health benefits:
1. Packed With Nutrients
A keto coleslaw is known to have small amounts of carbohydrates, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t get any nutrients from this dish. Because of the ingredients used, a keto diet is actually packed with several nutrients, such as:
- Vitamin K: Vitamin K helps your body by making proteins for healthy bones and tissues, and proteins for blood clotting. If you take blood thinners, you need to be careful about how much vitamin K you get.
- Vitamin C: is an antioxidant. It is important for your skin, bones, and connective tissue, and it helps the body absorb iron
- Manganese: When coupled with other nutrients, manganese can gradually improve bone health.
- Vitamin B6: The B vitamins, including B6, help the process your body uses to get or make energy from the food you eat. They also help form red blood cells. A lack of B6 can cause anemia.
- Calcium: Your heart, nerves, and muscles require regular doses of calcium. Calcium is a mineral that is important for strong bones and teeth.
- Potassium: Potassium helps your nerves to function and muscles to contract, and it helps your heartbeat stay regular. If you have chronic kidney disease, your kidneys may not remove extra potassium from the blood.
- Magnesium: There is some evidence that magnesium might be helpful for reducing the frequency of migraines, but the amount of evidence is small. Magnesium supplements for migraine should be used only under the supervision of a health care provider. Magnesium is also known to boost your exercise performance, allowing you to enjoy more benefits from your workouts.
2. Cabbage and Inflammation
Inflammation isn’t always a cause for concern as this is your body’s way of protecting itself from injuries and infections. Inflammation is your body’s response in order to heal itself naturally, helping you get back on track after suffering from injuries and infections. However, excessive inflammation that occurs for a long period, without the presence of any injuries and infections can be alarming.
When left untreated, inflamed muscles and joints can cause pain and discomfort, and can even develop into osteoarthritis. Over time, inflammation can also lead to cardiovascular diseases, as it’ll be hard for oxygen and nutrients to circulate from and around your heart.
Cabbage, a cruciferous vegetable, goes into a keto coleslaw. Compounds formed from cruciferous vegetables have had anti-inflammatory effects in studies in animals and in cells grown in the laboratory.
3. Improves Digestion
Experiencing severe and recurring bloating, constipation, heartburn, and nausea isn’t only inconvenient; these can also become symptoms of a problematic or unhealthy digestive system. Leaving any digestive problems untreated can affect your body’s ability to pass food from the mouth to the anus, and its efficiency to absorb nutrients from the food you eat.
Eating a keto coleslaw is an easy way to improve digestion. The vegetables present in this dish are gut-friendly as these contain insoluble fibers. These types of fibers can improve how your digestive system works by regulating your bowel movements and adding bulk of stools.
Moreover, insoluble fibers also work by increasing the number of good bacteria in your gut. These bacteria are essential for the functions of your digestive system because these protect your immune system and produce important nutrients, such as vitamins B12 and K2.
4. Lowers Blood Pressure
It’s important to look after your blood pressure and ensure that it’s within the normal levels. High blood pressure or hypertension can trigger serious health conditions, such as heart attack, aneurysm, dementia, and narrowed blood vessels in the kidney.
Individuals diagnosed with high blood pressure are often advised to reduce their salt intake and increase their dietary potassium intake. Eating dishes high in salt can reduce your body’s ability to remove excess water from your kidneys, resulting in high blood pressure.
Potassium, on the other hand, is a mineral and a type of electrolyte that your body needs to work properly. Potassium can also regulate blood pressure as it counteracts the harmful effects of sodium from your body by excreting it through urine.
Keto coleslaw is a low-salt and high-potassium dish. Thus, by incorporating it regularly to your diet, you add potassium, and increasing potassium intake can help decrease your blood pressure if you have high blood pressure.
Talk To Pros
Before you fully commit to following a keto diet, consult your doctor first. Let them know about your plans to follow another eating plan and don’t proceed unless they approve of it. Following a keto diet and regularly eating a keto coleslaw can be beneficial to your health, but your body might respond differently.
By seeking professional advice, you can maximize the benefits of keto coleslaw and prevent any health risks in the long run. Your doctor can recommend the right ingredients for your coleslaw so you can meet your nutritional requirements.
