How Turnips are Good For Your Health

Nutrient Content

Vitamins

Excellent Source of (Daily Recommended): 

  • Vitamin C – 46%

A Source of:

  • Vitamin B6 – 6%
  • Folate – 5%
  • Thiamin – 3%
  • Niacin – 3%
  • Pantothenic Acid – 3%

Minerals

A Source of:

  • Manganese – 9%
  • Potassium – 7%
  • Copper – 6%
  • Sodium – 4%
  • Phosphorus – 4%
  • Magnesium – 4%
  • Calcium – 4%

Other

Also a Source of:

  • Fiber – 9%
  • Omega-3 Fatty Acids
  • Antioxidants – Glucosinolates, Anthocyanins

*All nutritional information found at (1)

How Turnips Prevent Chronic Disease

Turnips, like many vegetables, prevent several chronic diseases that plague America today. Most notably, turnips helps to prevent cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

How Turnips Prevent Cancer

In general, vegetables are recommended for daily consumption. Turnip is a great resource to incorporate into your diet to prevent various cancers.

  • Turnips help fight against free radicals, which are unstable compounds formed from oxidative stress. Free radicals are often the driving force of many cancers. (2)

  • Turnips are specifically rich in vitamin C, which can help prevent the growth of cancer cells and and even kill them.

    • Vitamin C has been shown to reduce your risk for several cancers, including lung, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers. (3)

  • Turnips are also rich in glucosinolates. Glucosinolates are plant compounds with high antioxidant activity; they have been linked to reduced rates of a number of cancers, including lung and colon cancer! (4, 5)

    • Glucosinolates are found in high amounts in cruciferous vegetables, like turnips (6)

  • Turnips are also high in flavonoids, primarily anthocyanins. Anthocyanins have several anticancer effects and provide turnips their purple-reddish color. (7)

    • Anthocyanins trigger phase II antioxidant enzymes. These enzymes are important for the prevention of cancer proliferation, and these enzymes improve apoptotic activity. (8)

How Turnips Prevent Diabetes

  • Turnips have been shown to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes by maintaining blood sugar levels.

  • Turnips help increase blood sugar clearance. They also help lower glucose levels by inhibiting glucose production by the liver. (9, 10)

    • Turnips also lower the amount of sugar you absorb from these carbs. A number of studies have found these effects and related the effects back to the prevention of diabetes. (11)

  • Still, further studies must be done to validate these findings in the studies.

Turnip Promotes a Number of Health Benefits

Turnip not only helps to prevent diseases but support and promote the function of several important systems in our bodies.

How Turnips Promote Weight Loss

  • Turnips are low in calories and low on the glycemic index. This indicates that eating turnips will not alter your blood sugar levels drastically. As a result, turnips have minimal effects on your blood sugar levels. These characteristics in foods have been shown to help promote weight loss. (12)

How Turnips Promote Bone Health

  • Turnips are rich in vitamin K. Vitamin K has been shown to help prevent diseases such as osteoporosis and arthritis. Specifically, vitamin K helps increase bone density, and the glucosinolates found in turnips positively impact bone formation. This leads to a healthier bone and less strain on impact. (13)

How Turnips Prevent Harmful Bacteria

  • The glucosinolates found in turnips help inhibit microbial and bacterial growth. A number of studies have shown that glucosinolates fight against the common disease bacteria, such as E.coli. (14)

How Turnips Promote Liver Health

  • The anthocyanins and glucosinolates have been shown to promote liver health in rats with liver toxicity. However, more studies must be done to confirm these initial findings. (15)

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