Have you tried the cauliflower diet?
Okay, so maybe people aren’t going around saying that they’re on the “Cauliflower Diet,” but people are treating this cruciferous plant like the cure to carbs and the trick to losing weight.
Many members of the health community are replacing the grains (including rice) and potatoes in their diet with cauliflower. This low-carb, low-calorie food can be prepared in so many ways. On top of the typical ways to prepare this vegetable, people have started blending cauliflower to create dough. It can also be used as “mashed potatoes,” or as a rice substitute. Cauliflower dough can even be used for baking. It may seem excessive to replace all of these foods with cauliflower, but it does make some sense.
Replacing high-carb foods with a low-carb, nutrient-rich vegetable can definitely help you lose weight and improve your overall health. The health benefits of cauliflower are numerous, so why not use it in your cooking?
Health Benefits Of Cauliflower
Cauliflower is roughly 92% water, but in the remaining 8% there is a lot of goodness. It is a good source of vitamins and nutrients like thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, magnesium, phosphorus, and protein. It’s an even better source of dietary fibre, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin, K, folate, pantothenic acid, potassium, and manganese.
While it doesn’t have high levels of omega-3 it has even lower levels of omega-6, which is good because the standard diet is so abundant in omega-6 rich foods that our fatty acid levels get out of whack and it results in dangerous inflammation. By swapping out foods that are high in imega-6 with something that is very low in the fatty acid, you should have an easier time keeping a proper balance and reducing inflammation.
Cauliflower, along with other cruciferous vegetables, may reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. In general, these veggies are an important part of cancer prevention. This is in part because they have many anti-inflammatory properties, but a large part of it is that studies found that people who eat more vegetables eat less processed foods that can lead to so many deadly diseases. It makes sense. If you’re eating goof food you’re going to be less hungry and eat less junk.
A healthy diet rich in vegetables like cauliflower also reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease. This is for many of the same reasons it reduces the risk of cancer. Your parents weren’t lying when they told you that you need to eat your vegetables to grow up big and strong.
One cup of cauliflower (100g) has 77% of your daily vitamin C requirement. This is probably the most essential vitamin for optimizing your health. Vitamin C boosts the immune system, fights stress, and reduces inflammation and oxidative damage.
Cauliflower Concerns
One concern to keep in mind with the “cauliflower diet,” is that you shouldn’t limit your diet too much. If you’re making cauliflower the new staple in your diet you’re going to get a lot of a handful of nutrients, but you’ll be missing out on many more. It’s important to eat a wide variety of good whole foods to get an even broader list of nutrients that will help you thrive.
Cauliflower can also cause gas, which isn’t enjoyable for anyone. If you already suffer from being excessively gassy you may want to watch how much cauliflower you’re getting. More than that, it may not be right for anyone with a thyroid problem. Cauliflower can prevent proper iodine absorption, and while this may not affect everyone, it could be harmful to people who have a known thyroid condition. This is caused by goitrogens, which are found in all raw cruciferous vegetables. These vegetables are incredibly good for you and have so many health benefits, so you still want them in your diet (unless your doctor has told you to avoid them), but you have to eat them within moderation. Boiling also greatly lowers the levels of these phytochemicals.
Cauliflower is malleable, and moldable, which makes it resemble the high-carb foods you’re used to. It is a better alternative to many highly processed, high-carb foods, but it can also have its own side effects. Enjoy the health benefits of cauliflower, but avoid making it the main food in your diet.
