Eating vegetables is good for your health. However, some may be even more beneficial. We are talking about Ora-Pro-Nóbis, Taioba and Seralha. They are considered non-traditional food plants (Pancs) and are rich in essential minerals, such as iron, copper, zinc, manganese, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium.According to a study by the University of São Paulo (USP), the nutritional value of the vegetables mentioned is comparable to or even higher than that of the most famous vegetables. For example, they have more protein than spinach.
The study reinforces the importance of encouraging vegetable production. The results were compared with the Brazilian Food Composition Table (TBCA) from USP and with data from FoodData from the US Department of Agriculture.
Ora-pro-nóbis, taioba and serralha are rustic plants found in several tropical areas, as they adapt to different types of soil, but require a lot of light. In Brazil, they are found mainly in the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.
Foods were compared to spinach (Image: shutterstock/alicja neumiler) Among the various Pancs ora-pro-nóbis, taioba and serralha were chosen to be researched due to their growing popularity. Despite this, many of Brazil's native plants are not part of the population's food group. This is partly due to the lack of information about its nutritional composition.
This study also confirms the expectation that wild foods may have nutritional value comparable to or even greater than that of traditional foods. And it reinforces the importance of expanding the diversity of Brazilian food and encouraging its production and consumption to meet nutritional demands.
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While a fruit and vegetable diet will help you sleep more, the study says be careful when making the switch: plant-based meat also carries health risks; Consumption of this food at the right age can prevent neurological diseases Vegetables Rich in Minerals (Image: Journal of Food Composition and Analysis) Foods Rich in Nutrients There was no significant difference between mineral nutrients and protein concentrations in raw and cooked plants. Nutritional analyzes of ora-pro-nóbis, taioba and serralha showed that the mineral and protein contents of these plants are, in most cases, equal to or higher than those of spinach. Among the plants analyzed, Taioba stood out, presenting higher concentrations of minerals than conventional plants, including high levels of iron, copper, zinc, calcium and phosphorus. Although milkweed had lower levels of some mineral nutrients (manganese, magnesium and potassium) than conventional plants, other minerals (iron, copper, zinc, calcium and phosphorus) were the same or significantly higher. The study was published in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis