Rutabaga: photo, what kind of vegetable it is, beneficial properties and contraindications, application

Content

1 What is rutabaga and what does it look like?
2 Where does rutabaga grow?
3 What does rutabaga taste like?
4 Chemical composition of rutabaga
5 What are the benefits of rutabaga for the human body?
6 Contraindications to rutabaga
7 How to eat rutabaga
8 How to use rutabaga
9 Calorie content of rutabaga
10 Conclusion

The photo of rutabaga does not make a particularly vivid impression, but this vegetable is very beneficial for health. You can evaluate the benefits of the root vegetable if you carefully study its composition and become familiar with the options for using the vegetable.

What is rutabaga and what does it look like?

Rutabaga is a vegetable from the Cruciferous family, which is a hybrid of turnip and cabbage. Externally, rutabaga resembles both parent vegetables; in shape and density it is similar to turnips, although it differs in larger size.

Rutabaga roots can be oval or spherical, flattened or cylindrical. The photo of the rutabaga berry shows that the top of the vegetable is covered with a smooth or mesh-like dense peel, the color of the skin is gray-green or purple in the upper part and yellow or white in the lower part. The rutabaga pulp retained much more of the cabbage, primarily its white or bright yellow color.

Rutabaga is an interesting vegetable to grow in the garden. The culture is highly cold-resistant, easily tolerates a lack of moisture, and even in difficult conditions grows juicy and nutritious.

Important! Sometimes, due to their purple color, rutabaga is mistaken for fodder beet, but these are completely different plants, differing in origin, properties and internal composition.

Where does rutabaga grow?

There is still controversy regarding the homeland of the root vegetable. Some scientists believe that the vegetable appeared randomly in Mediterranean countries, others insist that it spread throughout the world from Siberia. But most agronomists believe that the vegetable was bred in Sweden, since the first mention of the vegetable, made in the 17th century, dates back to this country. For the same reason, the root vegetable is often informally called Swedish turnip.

Currently, rutabaga is grown all over the world; the hardiness of this crop allows it to be cultivated in any natural conditions. True, in most countries the vegetable remains much less popular than potatoes, ordinary turnips or cabbage. But in some European countries, the root vegetable still plays an important role in traditional cuisine, for example, it is respected in Germany, Finland and Sweden.

What does rutabaga taste like?

In the taste of rutabaga, you can distinguish both turnips and cabbage. But most of all, the pulp of the vegetable still resembles cabbage, or rather, not the leaves of the cabbage heads themselves, but the stalk, only less bitter.

Chemical composition of rutabaga

The vegetable crop rutabaga is famous not only for its unusual appearance and taste, but also for its beneficial properties. It contains many valuable chemical elements, namely:

subgroup B vitamins - from B1 to B9 in full;
vitamins A and E;
ascorbic acid;
vitamins PP and H;
beta-carotene;
potassium and phosphorus;
sodium and calcium;
magnesium and iron;
cellulose;
mustard oil;
pectins;
essential oils.

The root vegetable also contains selenium and zinc, which give the vegetable antioxidant properties, which significantly increases the value of the product.

What are the benefits of rutabaga for the human body?

Due to its composition, the root vegetable is a truly valuable vegetable in the daily diet. You can list several main useful qualities of the product.

Rutabaga effectively protects against colds and infectious diseases. The pulp of the root vegetable contains a lot of vitamin C, which activates the human immune system. It is useful to consume the root vegetable in the autumn-winter period - its effect is not inferior to citrus fruits and will help to economically diversify the diet.
The root vegetable has a positive effect on the functioning of the intestines and the entire digestive system. The vegetable promotes increased production of enzymes responsible for the breakdown of food, and also improves peristalsis. Fiber, present in large quantities in rutabaga, not only allows for regular bowel movements, but also has a cleansing effect on the body, since it removes all toxic substances and even traces of heavy metals along with toxins.
The vegetable has dietary properties. Its nutritional value is very low, while consuming rutabaga helps to quickly rid the body of accumulated toxins, establish metabolic processes and reduce the volume of fat deposits.
The vitamins in rutabaga and the minerals in the pulp are beneficial for the functioning of the heart and blood vessels. The large amount of potassium in rutabaga helps maintain a normal water-salt balance in the body; consuming the vegetable lowers cholesterol levels and strengthens the walls of blood vessels.Therefore, rutabaga can serve as a prevention of heart attacks, strokes and atherosclerosis, as well as prevent the occurrence of blood clots.
Calcium and phosphorus in the vegetable have a strengthening effect on the skeletal system and ligaments. With the help of the root vegetable, you can alleviate the condition of osteoporosis and other joint diseases; the vegetable is very useful for older people to include in their diet.
The B vitamins and potassium in the vegetable have a positive effect on the muscular and nervous system in the human body. The root vegetable helps get rid of increased irritability and sleep problems, improves muscle tone and has an invigorating effect, reduces stress levels and strengthens attention and memory.

For men, the root vegetable is especially useful due to its beneficial effect on the reproductive system, and this vegetable also protects against early baldness. Women can use the product for migraines, during menopause and during painful periods - rutabaga helps return well-being and emotional background to normal.

The vegetable can serve as a prevention of cancer - the antioxidants in its composition promote the rapid renewal of body cells, which prevents the development of cancerous tumors.

Advice! It is recommended for women to consume rutabaga during breastfeeding; if the mother or baby is not allergic to the vegetable, rutabaga pulp will be beneficial because it will increase milk production.

Contraindications to rutabaga

Of course, the beneficial properties and contraindications of rutabaga are closely related to each other. It is not recommended to eat Swedish turnips:

in case of individual allergies, in this case the vegetable will cause nausea, flatulence, bloating and diarrhea;
during pregnancy, root vegetables often lead to increased gas formation, and this can cause a lot of inconvenience to a pregnant woman;
for inflammation of the genitourinary tract - the vegetable can have an irritating effect and aggravate the condition;
for pancreatitis, stomach ulcers and gastritis in the acute phase, eating root vegetables will only increase pain and worsen the condition;
with flatulence and colic in the intestines.

It is better not to eat rutabaga if you have diabetes - the glycemic index of the product is very high, and the vegetable is likely to cause harm to the body.

How to eat rutabaga

The benefits of rutabaga for the human body can be fully realized if the vegetable is used correctly.

For consumption, it is necessary to choose healthy, smooth root vegetables with intact and clean skins.
Before use, the vegetable must be thoroughly washed under cold water and then peeled off the thick skin.
The pulp of the root vegetable is cut into small cubes and added to a salad, for example, with regular cabbage or carrots, with which the vegetable goes especially well in taste.

You can use rutabaga not only fresh as part of a salad. The vegetable is baked and fried in vegetable oil, boiled until softened or stewed under a lid, or steamed. In all types, rutabaga retains its beneficial properties, although it is the raw pulp of the vegetable that contains the greatest amount of valuable substances.

It is best to consume the root vegetable in the morning or afternoon. Since the vegetable contains a large amount of fiber, shortly before bed it can have a negative effect and lead to bloating and nighttime flatulence.

Attention! It is recommended to eat no more than 150-200 g of rutabaga per day in one form or another, and it is better to consume this healthy vegetable not every day, but twice or thrice a week.

How to use rutabaga

You can eat rutabaga not only as food - the plant has many healing properties. Traditional medicine offers many effective recipes based on Swedish turnips.

Rutabaga is good for chronic constipation. To improve peristalsis and remove toxins from the body, you need to prepare a soft puree from a boiled vegetable or bake the root vegetable in the oven. You need to eat 150-200 g of root vegetables every other day - this will eliminate constipation and generally establish regular bowel movements.
The rutabaga plant is used in the treatment of colds. The recipe looks like this - the pulp of the root vegetable is crushed into a pulp using a blender, mixed with natural honey in a ratio of 2 to 1, and then taken three times a day in a small spoon, washed down with water.
Taking the root vegetable for medicinal purposes is useful for heart and vascular ailments. In this case, the benefits and harms of rutabaga juice will be in demand; a small peeled vegetable should be grated and the pulp squeezed out through thick gauze. Drink 100 ml of fresh vegetable juice on an empty stomach three times a day - the product not only cleanses blood vessels, but also eliminates swelling, thereby improving kidney function. Also, a home remedy will be beneficial for anemia - the iron in rutabaga will quickly raise hemoglobin levels to normal values.
Rutabaga is beneficial for bronchitis, pneumonia and persistent cold cough. Treatment is again carried out using juice - 100 ml of it is taken three times a day, and to enhance the medicinal effect it is mixed with cranberry or rose hip juice.
For joint ailments, rutabaga with honey will provide effective help - juice squeezed from one fresh root vegetable should be mixed with 30 g of natural honey and consumed twice a day on an empty stomach.This remedy will relieve inflammation and pain and improve mobility.

With the help of root vegetables, you can treat skin ailments, cuts and burns. This is very simple to do - a paste of fresh vegetables should be applied to the affected area of the skin and held as a compress for 30-40 minutes.

Swedish turnip is used not only in traditional medicine, but also in home cosmetology. The beneficial substances contained in root vegetables have a beneficial effect on the skin, cleanse the epidermis, increase skin elasticity, even out complexion and prevent aging.

For example, the following nourishing mask is popular:

fresh root vegetables are grated on a fine grater;
the gruel is mixed with 10 g of honey;
add 30-40 g of fatty cottage cheese to the mixture;
The ingredients are poured with carrot juice in such a volume that the mask acquires a semi-liquid consistency.

The mask is distributed over cleansed facial skin and left for a quarter of an hour, after which it is washed off. If you carry out the procedure at least twice a week, the appearance of the skin will improve very quickly, the epidermis will become smoother and more elastic, and fine wrinkles will disappear.

For dry skin, another simple mask will be especially beneficial:

the peeled root vegetable is grated;
mix the gruel in equal quantities with full-fat sour cream;
The mask is spread over the face for a quarter of an hour.

For the best effect, it is also recommended to make a mask twice or thrice a week. And rutabaga with sour cream will be especially beneficial during the cold season, when the skin needs careful protection.

Calorie content of rutabaga

The nutritional value of rutabaga is represented mainly by carbohydrates; root vegetables contain about 7.7 g of them. The vegetable also contains proteins in the amount of 1.2 g, and rutabaga contains very little fat - only 0.1 g.

The calorie content of the vegetable is 37 kcal per 100 g of pulp. Root vegetables, when consumed in moderation, are completely safe for your figure and cannot contribute to excess weight gain.

Conclusion

The photo of rutabaga shows an extremely inconspicuous and completely ordinary-looking vegetable, similar to a turnip. However, the chemical composition of rutabaga is so diverse that this vegetable crop is a valuable source of vitamins, minerals and plant fiber. Eating root vegetables in the absence of contraindications has a very good effect on human health - the vegetable helps fight chronic illnesses and vitamin deficiencies.