Peas

For optimum nutrition peas are best eaten fresh and uncooked. They are an excellent source of dietary fibre, vitamin K and Folate, and a good source of the minerals magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and potassium. The nutrients in peas are helpful for maintaining cardiovascular and bone health.

When meat is digested, one of the by-products is homocysteine. Excesses of this enzyme have been linked to arterial wall damage which can encourage the formation of fatty plaques. Fatty plaques are one of the ways arteries narrow, and can lead to formation of an embolism. Both embolisms and narrowing arteries can cause cardivascular disease. Typically our body is able to break down homocysteine into smaller different molecules that will not cause these problems. The enzymatic process to do the breakdown requires Folate, vitamins B6 and B12. Fresh peas are an excellent food source of Folate and B6. Folate is the natural form of Folic Acid.

Vitamin K has an important role in synthesising proteins in our body. Essentially we are constantly piecing together proteins and building what our body needs. Specifically Vitamin K is involved with building the proteins that control blood clotting. This becomes important in terms of preventing undue clotting that can lead to formation of blood clots or thrombosis. Vitamin K has also been attributed with helping build the helpful structural proteins that improve arterial resistance to plaque formation.

Calcium is stored in our bones to provide skeletal strength and provide a storage facility for the calcium needed for many body functions. The continual replenishment of calcium stored in the bones relies on Vitamin K. Again, Vitamin K has a lead role in synthesising proteins that are involved with the functional work of laying down more calcium in our bones. Without Vitamin K this important mineralisation of the bone matrix would be impaired. A weakening of the bone matrix causes the disease Osteoporosis.

Information supplied by Steph Askeur
Fresh-cut enthusiast