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 Artichokes
Benefits
• A good source of folate,
vitamin C and potassium
• Low in calories, high in fiber
Drawbacks
• May provoke allergic reaction
in people sensitive to ragweed
Served either hot or cold, the
globe artichoke is both a delicacy and a low-calorie, nutritious vegetable.
Actually, a globe artichoke is the flower bud of a large, thistlelike plant,
with only a few edible portions – the heart and the tender, fleshy part at
the base of the tough outer leaves. Both the heart and the meaty leaves of
the artichoke are edible, though it's the leaves that contain many of the
vegetable's phytochemicals.
Use a light sauce. To prepare a
fresh artichoke, the thorny top and leaf tips are trimmed away, and the
vegetable is boiled, steamed, or baked. It can be served in many ways, but
one of the most popular is to dip the edible portion of the leaves in a
sauce. It's this sauce that dictates whether an artichoke is a healthful
treat or a high-caloried indulgence. High-fat sauces like Hollandaise and
melted butter are traditional favorites, but a much more healthful choice is
lemon juice with a dash of olive oil.
One artichoke provides 28 percent
of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of folate, 16 percent of vitamin C,
300 mg of potassium, and about 3 g of fiber. Artichokes contain cynarin, an
organic acid that stimulates the sweetness receptors in the taste buds of
some people, causing the foods eaten afterward to taste sweeter. This
chemical is thought to improve liver function and possibly lower blood
cholesterol, but these claims are unproved. Also lacking proof are claims
that artichokes lower blood sugar and stimulate bile flow.
Artichokes are members of the
sunflower, or composite, plant family. People allergic to ragweed pollen may
react to artichokes because of cross-reacting antigens that respond to both
allergens. |
