Parsnip: Nutritional Facts and Health Benefits

Parsnips are a nutrient-dense root vegetable with a hint of spice, nuttiness, and sweetness that resembles pale carrots. These veggies range in color from white to cream to pale yellow.

Pastinaca sativa is a natural plant found throughout Europe and Central Asia. The edible root has been utilized for food in the past, particularly during the period of the ancient Greeks and Romans roughly 2,000 years ago. Parsnip was once used as a natural sweetener to flavor cakes and other baked goods before cane sugar and beet sugar became popular.

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Nutritional Values of Parsnips

The USDA provides nutritional information for 1 cup (156 grams) of cooked (boiled) parsnip slices as follows:

• 111 calories
• 0.4g fat
• 16 mg sodium
• 26.6 g carbohydrate
• 5.6 g fiber
• 7.5 g sugar
• 2 g protein

Calcium, magnesium, and vitamin C are also found in this low-fat vegetable.

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Health benefits of parsnips

There's a lot to like about parsnips. However, their health-promoting elements are frequently overlooked. Here are a few of parsnips' potential health advantages:

1) Breast cancer risk could be reduced

Adequate fiber consumption through adolescence and young adulthood has been linked to a lower risk of breast cancer. Parsnips are an excellent method to enhance your fiber consumption. They are high in antioxidants, vitamin C, vitamin E, and fiber. These vitamins aid in the body's scavenging of free radicals and reducing DNA damage, both of which can contribute to cancer in the future.

2) Helps to keep your heart healthy

Parsnips include several nutrients that are good for your heart. The fiber in parsnips helps to lower cholesterol levels in the blood. Furthermore, parsnips are high in potassium, which is known to help decrease blood pressure. One serving of parsnips offers around 10% of your daily potassium requirement.

Parsnips also include vitamin C, a potent antioxidant, and folate, which helps lower the risk of stroke.

3) Immune function support

Vitamin C is abundant in parsnips, supplying roughly 25% of your daily requirements in only one serving. It is a water-soluble vitamin that helps the immune system operate properly.

Getting enough vitamin C in your diet can help reduce common cold symptoms and shorten the duration of cold and other respiratory tract infections. It may also help prevent and treat pneumonia, malaria, and diarrhea.

4) Delicious and simple

Parsnips have a sweet, carrot-like flavor with a nutty, earthy undertone. They can be mashed, roasted, sautéed, boiled, baked, grilled, or fried, and they provide a great taste to a wide range of meals, particularly soups, stews, casseroles, gratins, and purees.

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How to prepare parsnips

These root vegetables are available year-round in supermarkets, but their flavor is at its finest from late fall to early spring. Small to medium-sized parsnips will taste sweeter and less fibrous than giant parsnips. Try one of these parsnip dishes to add a tasty new veggie to your diet:

• Sliced parsnips made into thin chips and baked
• Shepherd's pie using parsnips, lentils, and mushrooms
• Grated parsnips in your salad
• Gratin with parsnips and potatoes
• Drizzle parsnips with honey or maple syrup, baked together in the oven
• Cake with parsnips and spices.

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Things to keep in mind

The high potassium level of parsnips is a plus for most people. On the other hand, parsnips can cause a severe build-up of potassium in the blood in persons who have kidney illness.

If you have poor kidney function, consult a certified dietitian about how parsnips should be included in your diet. In addition, if you aren't used to consuming a lot of fiber, a sudden increase in parsnip consumption could be difficult for your digestive system. To avoid discomfort, gradually increase your consumption of high-fiber foods to give your body time to acclimate.