Watercress: health benefits and harms

As you know, the environment in the modern world has deteriorated greatly. Therefore, many people resort to proper nutrition, try to monitor their health and consume as many vitamins and minerals as possible. One of such useful products is the hero of today's article, the properties of which in ancient Rome were considered incredibly healing and divine.

Watercress is a grassy annual plant. In the people it is customary to call it a gobbler or a bugbug for a specific bitter taste. This plant used to be considered exotic, but now it can be found on almost every garden plot in our country. Watercress got its distribution due to its rapid growth, resistance to cold, unpretentiousness, useful properties, vitamins and minerals.

The plant can be consumed in any form: both fresh and cooked. Often it is used to treat various diseases. In addition, it is very easy to grow or find a salad in the market.

Types of Watercress

In nature, a salad can be of three types:

1. Whole leafed - has a large horizontal rosette of leaves up to 23 cm and a height of up to 5 cm. The most famous representatives of this species include Ducat, ultra-mature and broad-leaved, early ripe.
2. Curly - has a very rugged leaves and a rose up to 18 cm. Popular representatives of this species are Openwork and Curly Kress.
3. Sowing - has a gap between the forks, the leaves are cut weakly.

Composition and calorie content

Watercress contains a huge amount of useful vitamins and minerals that are not found in any other greenery.

Salad composition - complex:

• from carotene;
• vitamins A, C, PP, S, K;
• almost complete composition of vitamins B;
• a large amount of magnesium, iodine, iron and calcium;
• proteins and carbohydrates;
• essential oils.

Greens consists of such minerals and vitamins that allow you to use it not only for culinary purposes, but also to improve health.

Watercress is a great choice for dieters looking to lose weight. This can be explained by the fact that the calorie content of the salad is extremely small and is only 32 kcal, which is good news.

What is useful cress

General benefit

Note that the benefit of the salad was noted in ancient Rome. The leaves of the plant were used to treat various diseases. This plant and at the moment is a storehouse for strengthening human health, since it:

• reduces the risk of cancer;
• ideal for losing weight due to low calorie content;
• improves the digestive tract and removes all unnecessary to the outside;
• tones the human body;
• is a real aphrodisiac for men;
• improves brain activity and accelerates its work;
• slows down the aging process of the body;
• improves eyesight;
• interferes with cataract;
• improves liver function.

For men

The plant is incredibly useful for improving the sexual activity of men. To do this, use unripe salad seeds. In addition, the alcohol tincture from this plant is considered valuable for the male half of the population for the ability to cure potency, prostatitis and enhance sexual arousal.

For women

It is very difficult to find at least one lady who would be completely satisfied with her appearance and would not want to lose weight. Is not it? And here watercress can come to the rescue. Its calorie content is very small, which will provide real weight loss.

In addition, the salad helps improve the quality of hair and skin.We can say that it has anti-aging properties. Also, masks from the plant help fight various skin diseases.

During pregnancy

A unique and happy time in the life of any woman is pregnancy. Of course, during this period you need to carefully choose food products. Therefore, women in position doctors recommend including watercress in their diet. If you add this greens to dishes, you can improve the digestive tract and prevent diarrhea. But here it is very important to ensure that the future mother does not have an allergy to the plant.

When breastfeeding

Watercress is a strong allergen. It can be eaten by a mother who is breastfeeding, provided that the baby is not allergic to it. Before you start adding greens to the diet, you need to consult a pediatrician.

For kids

It is advisable to add watercress to the diet no earlier than three years, since the plant can negatively affect the condition of the gastric mucosa. It is very important to ensure that the child is not allergic to this product.

Watercress improves the mood of the child and strengthens the immune system. At the first symptoms of colds, you need to give the baby an infusion of leaves several times a day or use them as mustard plasters. Since the drink has an expectorant effect, it can be used in the treatment of severe cough. Therefore, in the season of mass epidemics, one should not forget about watercress, because it will help the child stay healthy throughout the most severe colds and frosts.

For the elderly

Grandparents often grow watercress in their garden, because its leaves relieve poor health, improve the digestive and cardiovascular systems, normalize blood pressure, reduce nervous tension and relieve insomnia. For older people, this plant is also important in that it lowers blood cholesterol, which helps to avoid heart attacks, strokes and heart diseases.

When losing weight

As already noted earlier, watercress has a low calorie content. Therefore, dishes from its leaves are ideal for people who have a dream to lose weight. In addition, useful minerals and vitamins make greens an indispensable supplement to various salads. What are the useful leaves of the plant? Freshly squeezed juice improves digestion, which helps to eliminate toxins from the body. As a result, it will be easy, simple and easy to lose weight.

Watercress in medicine

The leaves of the plant relieve a huge number of diseases. Watercress is beneficial in treating diarrhea, acne, oral diseases, and coughing. In addition, the leaves remove parasites from the body.

Here are some of the most popular home therapy recipes:

1. An infusion of lettuce helps to get rid of an eating disorder. To do this, pour 25 g of chopped herbs with a glass of boiling water. Infuse the drink for 30-60 minutes. After this, strain the infusion. You need to drink a ready-made broth three times a day for a teaspoon before eating.
2. For breast problems, it is recommended to use dressings from freshly picked leaves. Finely chop the greens and attach to the sore spot. After a few hours, carefully remove the leaves and swim.
3. Watercress infusion also helps to cure bronchitis or a strong cough. To do this, grind the leaves so that 3 tablespoons are accumulated, and pour a glass of boiling water. Next, strain the infusion. After that, it is ready for consumption. Drink the drink warm, 3 times a day before meals, 2 tablespoons.
4. The plant can be used to quickly heal external injuries. To do this, you need to make a special ointment. Its preparation is not difficult. You need to take fresh leaves and grind thoroughly, mixing with oil, melted in a pan in advance. Apply this mixture to damaged skin. It promotes the rapid healing of scratches, abrasions and bruises.

Application in cosmetology

The healing properties of the plant are also used in cosmetology. They are difficult to refute, because after its application the skin is smoothed, its tone becomes smoother, and all inflammations pass.

For hair

In watercress there is such an element as sulfur. It is able to form keratin, so necessary for hair growth. If you suffer from a large amount of dandruff, then freshly squeezed juice of herbs will help you with this.

For facial skin

If you have problems with the skin of the face, then you can make unique masks from watercress to eliminate them.

1. To get rid of blackheads, you will need lettuce leaves and water. Put in a pan and cook for 5 minutes. After the set time, we take out the leaves and wait until they cool slightly. After that, we carefully lay them on the face for 15 minutes. After thoroughly rinse.
2. Do you have oily skin? No problem. The recipe is pretty simple. Take 2 tablespoons of finely chopped lettuce and stir with a teaspoon of honey. Add egg white to the mixture. After thoroughly stirring, apply the mask to the face. After 15 minutes, wash it off and rinse thoroughly.
3. Normal skin is not a reason to let everything drift and not take care of it. A mask of crushed lettuce, olive oil and a few drops of lemon juice will suit you. Hold on face for about 15 minutes, then rinse thoroughly.
4. Is the skin tone uneven? We recommend a mask of leaves, mashed on a blender, and milk. 10 minutes after application, rinse thoroughly with warm water.
5. Very often, the skin begins to peel off, especially in the spring, when the body lacks vitamins. Take 10 crushed leaves of watercress, high fat cream and mix thoroughly. Apply the mask to the face and after 20 minutes wash off with warm water.
6. To prevent skin problems, it is often advised to use ice. To do this, add a little water, lemon juice to the lettuce leaves and beat thoroughly with a blender. The resulting mashed potatoes are put into molds and sent to the freezer. In the morning, we wipe face skin with ice to even out the color and make it healthier.

Cress in cooking

As you already understood, the plant has an original taste, so it is often used as an additive to various dishes. Often, vegetable leaves are added to various salads, soups, casseroles, sandwiches and cocktails.

What to eat with

The plant is useful both in fresh and in cooked form. Where to add it?

1. Dried leaves are often seasoned with omelets or fried eggs.
2. They can be put in fruit salads. Sprinkled with chopped leaves, the salad acquires an unusual taste.
3. The aroma of meat and fish dishes perfectly accentuate the smell of watercress.
4. If you are a fan of cheeses or cottage cheese, then you can experiment with the addition of this greens. The dish will certainly sparkle with new colors.

Be sure to enter the plant in the diet slowly and systematically, so as not to be disappointed in it. Then you will definitely be able to create original dishes from familiar recipes.

But nevertheless, it is best to consume fresh herbs, because it contains the largest amount of healthy vitamins and minerals. In dried form, it is better to use it for other purposes.

Watercress can be added to the diet and eat at any time of the day. Also, greens can be fried, stewed or boiled, if required by the recipe. After collecting the leaves, it is advisable to eat them soon. Of course, you can store in the refrigerator, but not more than 2 days.

The plant gives the dish a spicy taste and a specific smell. We recommend a delicious salad recipe with the addition of this greens, which will not leave you indifferent.

Vitamin Salad
We will need:

• 100 g carrots;
• 200 g of watercress leaves.
• For the sauce:
• 2 tbsp olive oil;
• a tablespoon of honey;
• lemon juice;
• pumpkin seeds.

Rub the carrots on a fine grater and mix all the ingredients with the sauce in one big plate. Mix thoroughly and sprinkle with fried pumpkin seeds. Enjoy your meal! This salad has a lot of the most useful properties and has an incredible unique taste.

Harm and contraindications

Naturally, the benefits of watercress for cooking dishes and masks are not in doubt. However, like any other plant, it can cause the human body not only benefits, but also harm:

1. If you add too much watercress to various dishes, frequent headaches and insomnia may begin.
2. It is not advisable for people with low blood pressure to add this greens to their diet. Its excess in the body can lower the pressure several times, which is very dangerous.
3. The plant belongs to strong allergens. Therefore, the leaves should be used very carefully. In order not to stumble upon an unexpected allergy, a test should be performed for the first time before consuming greens. Drizzle leaf juice onto your skin and wait for the body to respond. If everything is normal, then you can enjoy vitamins.

Naturally, in everything it is important to know the measure. Greens will not harm human health, if not exceed its daily rate. Adults are advised to consume no more than 100 g of the product per day, and children - no more than 50 g. Before using the plant for food, it is best to consult a doctor.

It is very important and interesting that adding leaves to a daily meal reduces the risk of blood cancer.

How to choose and store

The plant is sold on the market or on the shelves of the supermarket. As you now know, watercress is of different types and varieties, so its leaves are completely different. When buying greens, it is important to evaluate its quality by touch. It is necessary to ensure that the leaves are fresh, strong, whole, without holes and damage. Do not add sluggish or dried leaves to dishes, because the content of vitamins in them is minimized. Strange spots or growths - a signal that the plant is sick. It can not be bought in any case.

If you intend to use the greens after some time, it is best to wrap it in thick paper. If this is not possible, then you can take bags of polyethylene, but in them you need to make small holes in advance so that the air enters inside. Washing the greens is not worth it at once, because then it will begin to rot faster and soon deteriorate. The best option for storing greens is a food container. In it, the leaves are not much remembered and will retain their beneficial properties for a long time. Keep greens in the refrigerator. After the leaves are picked from the garden, they remain juicy for a week. Therefore, storing a plant longer than 7 days makes no sense.

Is it possible to freeze

Of course, freezing cress is quite possible. However, in the case of this plant, its leaves, which will be taken out of the freezer in the winter, will lose their beautiful appearance and unusual taste. Therefore, if you want to enjoy a crispy and juicy salad, it will be better to grow greens on the windowsill all winter. It is simple and very convenient.

If you still want to freeze lettuce leaves, then this can be done in different ways:

• whole
• finely chopped until gruel;
• in small pieces mixed with ice.

Thawing watercress leaves in winter, it is very important to use them immediately after opening the containers. Secondary freezing completely spoils the raw materials.

Is it possible to dry

Any greens can easily be dried for the winter. Watercress is no exception. This is not difficult. You will need:

1. Carefully select the most healthy, young, intact and succulent leaves for drying.
2. Carefully cut off the rhizomes of plants.
3. Rinse under clean water.
4. Dry using a bucket.
5. Put on paper towels.
6. Wait for the plant to dry.
7. Then dry the leaves in the oven and place in a dark and cool place.
8. Fold the resulting mixture into a glass container and close tightly.

In winter, the leaves will not give the smell that was in the summer. However, all useful substances and minerals will remain and will saturate your body.

How to grow watercress on a windowsill

This is a great way to have fresh watercress leaves all winter. There are two ways to grow a plant: using a substrate and using soil.

So, to grow lettuce leaves by the first method, you need to follow the instructions below:

1. Lay the substrate on the bottom of the container. The level of the embankment should be at least 2 cm. It is necessary to add a little boiling water so that mold does not appear in the future.
2. Take any vessel and pour cress seeds into it. Pour them completely with warm water. This is necessary so that the seed acquires a certain capsule.
3. After some time, move the grains into a container prepared in advance. This should be done as carefully as possible so that the seeds are evenly distributed throughout the layer.
4. Wrap the container with seeds with cling film to create a greenhouse effect. Put near the window where the rays of the sun do not reach. Also note that there are no hot batteries nearby.
5. After a day, check the seeds. You should see the appearance of small sprouts of the fetus. A day later, it will be possible to remove the film, because real sprouts come out.

The plant is very easy to care for. It requires only daily watering and turning the container around itself so that the sprouts do not stretch out in one direction. You can feed greens with various fertilizers, which she gladly accepts.

After half a month, the watercress is ready to be eaten.

How to grow watercress using land:

1. Pour soil into the vessel, 5 centimeters high. After that, carefully distribute it so that the rows are even, and the distance between them does not exceed 20 centimeters. Everything can be made much easier by simply pouring the grains from the tank onto the soil and sprinkling them with a thin layer of earth.
2. Cover the vessel with the future crop with a film. Care must be taken that the room temperature does not fall below 18 ° C. The sprouts will have to wait a little longer, because they germinate through a layer of earth. This will make the plant healthier and stronger, because its root will strengthen and will not stretch.
3. Sowing care is no different from the first method. Timely watering and top dressing are the main elements for growing juicy and tasty watercress leaves.

As you can see, enjoying this plant year-round is not so difficult!

Interesting facts about watercress

1. In Morocco and Iran, vegetable leaves are used to make an exciting drink. It serves as a good aphrodisiac for men.
2. In Italy, the stronger sex believes that before a stormy night, you definitely need to eat pasta with seafood and watercress. Then the whole process will take place at the highest level.
3. Even in Ancient Egypt, girls began to use watercress leaves for the manufacture of products to help preserve youth and beauty.
4. In Africa, the plant is used as animal feed.

So, we hope that from today's article you learned a lot of new and useful information. Watercress is a unique plant that can be grown in any conditions. Salad leaves are very popular both in medicine, and in cooking and cosmetology. Be sure to add watercress to your diet. Believe me, health improvement can be noticed after a few months. Good luck

Watercress photo