The healing power of chives

Chives are an easy vegetable garden grower. Chives are not only healthy but also tasty. Pipe grass is another name for this family member of the look, not to be confused with the slightly larger pipe look. They are hollow blades, thin pipes, which get a funny little purple ball as a flower. Chives belong in herb butter. It's also a spice to use to sprinkle on top of the soup just before serving. Fresh chives are so tasty that you need less salt to season the food. It is therefore an ideal herb for a low-salt diet.

Chives in the vegetable garden

Chives are an ideal and very strong vegetable garden plant that belongs in the permanent herb garden. He thinks it is fine if you pick him because that stimulates the chive plant to grow even faster. Chives are hardy. Buy three to five chive plants once, put them in the garden as ground cover and you will always have enough chives. Dried chives lose their flavor. It is better to freeze this plant if you want to keep it. It is better to eat it fresh.

Chives have a diuretic effect. It stimulates digestion and appetite. Chives are good for the circulation. Like every member of the garlic family, chives are high in antioxidants in the form of thio-sulfinites. Chives have all the medicinal properties of garlic in a slightly milder form. It is therefore less prescribed than garlic, but it actually has more advantages since it does not have the garlic scent. Chives can be mixed with butter in the morning to enrich a sandwich with young cheese. Chives are delicious as a mixed herb in tea and chives do well in raw vegetable salads, applications that garlic does not really have. Garlic butter is not for early morning but more for evening.

Chives are almost never eaten in large quantities. It is not a main vegetable, but it only has positive qualities if you do it anyway. Chives are bursting with vitamins and minerals. 100 grams of chives contain no less than 98% of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for vitamin C and 145% of the RDA for vitamin A. This makes chives relatively the largest supplier of vitamin A from the garlic family. An ounce of chives also contains 177% of the RDA for vitamin K. There is also a lot of foilic acid or vitamin B11; 28% of the RDI. For vitamin B5, there is of the 6.5% RDA and for B6 11% of the RDA. There is also B2, namely 9% RDA and B1, 6.5% RDA. As the last vitamin from the B complex, it contains vitamin B3, 4% RDA.

There are also many minerals in chives. Here is a brief summary of the mineral values per 100 grams of chives: iron (20% DV), copper (17% DV), manganese (16% DV), magnesium (10.5% DV), calcium (9% DV), phosphorus (8% RDA) and zinc (5% RDA). Anyone who often reads overviews of mineral values in vegetables, fruit and herbs will immediately see that these are quite high values.

Eating chives helps to prevent the development of multiple cancers. Scientific studies have reported positive results, especially in colon cancer, esophageal cancer and prostate cancer. The phytonutrients with organosulfur compounds in chives stop cancer cell growth and disrupt the life cycle of cancer cells, causing them to die. A 2002 study found that eating chives may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. According to the American researchers, this applies not only to chives but also to other allium vegetables such as onion, garlic and leek. Chinese study from 2013 reports a reduced risk of liver cancer in people who eat a lot of allium vegetables.

Chives contain several flavonoids including quercetin. This phytonutrient acts as an antioxidant and ensures that free radicals in the body are fought. Free radicals can damage the body by causing damage at the cellular level, which can eventually lead to diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and various cancers. In laboratory studies, rats were measured to have lower blood pressure after being fed chives containing this quercetin component.

Potatoes and eggs can be optimally combined with chives. Chives go great in a potato or egg salad or shredded over baked potatoes or an omelet. It is an herb that fits well in a homemade mayonnaise. Chives actually go well with all potato dishes; it can be shredded over boiled, steamed potatoes and in the potato soup. A few stalks of chives are great as a garnish or to give a salad an extra nice-looking touch. Chives are a great herb for dressings. It combines well with parsley, but can also be used instead of parsley in cooking.