Chicory, also known as bitter greens, is a common green vegetable that belongs to the Asteraceae family. Bitter chicory has elongated leaves that have a dark green color and a refreshing taste with some slightly bitter flavors. Bitter chicory is rich in a variety of vitamins and minerals, especially high in vitamin C and potassium, which helps promote human health.

Nutritional value of endive

The nutritional value of endive is very high, every 100 grams of endive contains vitamin C50 mg, vitamin E1.18 mg, vitamin B10.06 mg, vitamin B20.14 mg, calcium 76 mg, iron 3.8 mg, zinc 0.7 mg, potassium 500 mg and other nutrients. Bitter chicory is rich in dietary fiber, which can promote gastrointestinal peristalsis and help prevent constipation.

Shopping for Bitter Chicory

When shopping for bitter chicory, you should choose chicory with dark green leaves, crisp texture, and free of spots and insect damage. The leaves of endive should be tightly packed and the petiole should not be too long, otherwise it indicates that the endive has aged and the taste will become bitter.

How to Eat Chicory

Cicory can be eaten raw or cooked. When eaten raw, you can wash the leaves of endive, cut into appropriate size pieces, add the right amount of salt, vinegar, garlic and other seasonings and mix well. When cooking, you can wash the leaves of endive, cut them into appropriate size pieces, and fry them in oil or boil them in soup. Bitter endive can also be used to make salads, scrambled eggs, fried meat and many other dishes with a refreshing and delicious taste.

Health effects of endive

Endive has a variety of health effects, such as clearing heat and detoxification, diuretic and laxative, hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic and so on. Chicory is rich in flavonoids, which can be antioxidant and prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease. Bitter chicory can also reduce blood sugar and blood fat, for diabetes and hyperlipidemia patients have certain auxiliary therapeutic effect.

Precautions for Chicory

Although Chicory is rich in nutrients, it has a bitter taste and is prone to cause loss of appetite. Therefore, when consuming endive, it should be consumed in moderation and not in excess. At the same time, endive contains some oxalic acid and calcium oxalate, which can easily affect the body's absorption, so it should be avoided together with calcium-rich foods.