Profile on Herbs: Cilantro

I have a confession to make. I'm a bit obsessed with Cilantro. I happen to be of the opinion that it makes most things taste exponentially better. 

 Cilantro finds its' way into many  Mexican dishes, but you can also find it in all kinds of Asian food, which is lucky for me because my husband will eat anything Asian-inspired every night of the week. Cilantro just adds a brightness and freshness to anything you add it to. But did you know that this wonderful herb also has amazing health benefits?

Herbs in general have a far greater concentration of antioxidants and phytonutrients than most of your everyday fruits and veggies. The word antioxidant is kind of a buzzword that

food distributors use to market foods to make them appear healthier, but do you know what antioxidants acually do? In summary, they protect our cells against the negative damage caused by free radicals, which are those nasty things floating around in our bodies that are the primary cause for many degenerative diseases like arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc. Cilantro has a wide variety of antioxidants along with loads of minerals like iron, potassium, manganese, calcium and magnesium. It's also a great source of vitamin C, vitamin A, and folic acid!

But perhaps the most exciting health benefit of cilantro is it's ability to help rid our bodies of (or chelate)  heavy metals such cadmium, mercury, and aluminum! Why is this important? Everyday through various forms, whether it be from dental fillings, contaminated fish, cosmetics, pesticide sprays, cooking utensils or cigarette smoke, we ingest loads of heavy metals that accumulate in our brain, kidneys, lymph sysytem and various other body tissues, inhibiting proper function. Cilantro is an extremely effective chelating agent to help detoxify our bodies of these harmful metals. It acts by binding to the heavy metals so that you can excrete them through your urine. Additionally, the essential oils found in cilantro have very powerful antifungal and antibacterial properties!

So how can you incorporate more cilantro into your diet? As I said, I LOVE cilantro so I find many ways to use it. I juice it. I chop it up and toss it in salads ans stir fries. I even stir it into soups and stews.  

So next time you see cilantro in the market, pick up a bunch or two and see how many ways you can incorporate this awesome herb it into your diet!

Adams, Mike. "Cilantro Helps Detoxify Heavy Metals." NaturalNews. N.p., 9 Nov. 2009. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.