What Happens to Your Body When You Eat Watercress, the 'World's Healthiest Vegetable'

Watercress is the superfood vegetable on everyone's mind these days, and that's because it was dubbed the "healthiest vegetable in the world" by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

When you chop up some watercress for your salad, smoothies, or sandwiches, you'll be giving your body some powerful compounds with anti-inflammatory properties.

You often hear of eating foods like kale or broccoli to get more vitamin K into your diet, but watercress is another vegetable with a high K vitamin count.

Watercress is made up of vitamins and minerals that have been proven to be beneficial to the health of your heart.

According to Manaker, watercress contains compounds that may help protect against the development of macular degeneration, which is an age-related issue that can affect the retina.

In order to protect your bones as you age, it's important to take in a variety of helpful nutrients through all types of foods. According to our dietitians, watercress can help by providing essential minerals for your bones.

One major benefit of chowing down on some watercress, whether it's on top of a salad or mixed into a smoothie, is that you're gifting your body with a multitude of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, all while consuming very few calories at all—less than 4 per cup!

As you can see by now, watercress is quite the powerhouse of a vegetable. Along with its potential to help your heart, bones, eyes, and reduction of inflammation, this green also contains compounds linked to cancer protection.

"Research suggests that watercress may have anticancer properties," says Goodson. "It contains bioactive compounds like glucosinolates, which can have a protective effect against certain types of cancer by inhibiting the growth of cancer cells and promoting their elimination.

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