Bok choy may be less well known than other dark leafy greens like spinach and kale, but it is a comparable vegetable in terms of nutritional and antioxidant profile and health benefits.
Just like Kale, Bok choy should be considered a superfood or super-green. For these reasons Bok choy would make an excellent addition to any healthy juicing plan and should not be overlooked. Juice and reap the benefits.
Like kale, Bok choy is a type of cabbage and a member of the cruciferous vegetable family, a family of vegetables known for containing high concentrations of phytochemicals that provide anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory benefits.
Here we will look more closely at these benefits and provide some great Bok choy juicer recipes you can try at home.
Note that Bok choy is also commonly called "Pak choi" or "Pok choi". They are the same thing!
(Check out our bumper article about the 101 benefits of juicing).
100g of shredded raw bok choy provides:
(Nutrition data provided by USDA)
If you are looking to lower high blood pressure levels then a daily glass of Bok choy juice may help. Bok choy is a good source of magnesium, calcium and potassium, three minerals that can help lower blood pressure.
Potassium in particular appears to be of great benefit according to an article released in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. This study shows that 4,700 mg of daily potassium intake can decrease high blood pressure caused by a high intake of sodium.
Bok choy juice is a great source of vitamin K, calcium, phosphorous and magnesium - nutrients that are required to build healthy strong bones. Although Vitamin K is well-known for its blood clotting abilities it is also required for bone mineralization.
Like our friend the carrot, Bok choy is also a high source of beta-carotene (the plant pigment that is turned into Vitamin A in the body).
Carrots are considered a vegetable good for our eyes and this is mainly because of the high vitamin A content of carrots.
Vitamin A plays an essential role in maintaining a clear cornea, the outside covering of the eye and is also needed to construct rhodopsin, the protein that allows us to see when it's darker.
Additionally, studies show that there is a connection between diets rich in Vitamin A and a reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.
For overall eye health foods rich in Vitamin A are a better option than supplements -- so enjoy that glass of Bok choy juice, mix it with carrot juice and your golden.
Bok choy is a member of the cruciferous vegetable family, a family of vegetables high in phytonutrients that may help protect us from cancer.
Some other members of the cruciferous family include arugula, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, kale and watercress.
These are green veggies that we should be enjoying every day for overall health and wellness.
Bok choy juice is a great source of carotenoid phytonutrients and a good source of vitamin C, two nutrients important to overall skin health.
Research that was published in the European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics revealed that diets high in carotenoids -- such as beta-carotene and other carotenes found in bok choy -- can help prevent premature skin aging, cell damage, and other skin diseases.
Vitamin C is crucial to healthy skin. Without it, the body cannot synthesize collagen, the elasticated material that keeps our skin young and supple.
Bok Choy (and other cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, etc.) contains numerous antioxidants which help reduce inflammation within the cells of your body.
One such group of antioxidants is known as glucosinolates, which are known to reduce inflammation and a variety of cancers that can result from such inflammation.
Isothiocyanates and indoles -- 2 prominent phytonutrients in Bok choy -- have been shown to study published in the Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism found that vitamin C can help shorten the duration of and reduce the symptoms of respiratory tract infections like the common cold.
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is essential for supporting biochemical reactions within the immune system. Low levels of this vitamin B6 are associated with a weak immune system, so make sure to enjoy leafy green vegetables like Bok choy regularly to maintain healthy B6 levels and a healthy immunity.
Bok choy is a member of the cruciferous vegetable family, a group of vegetables that contain goitrogens. Goitrogens can be harmful to people with thyroid dysfunction.
If you have any thyroid issues, please check with your health care provider before consuming cruciferous vegetables.
Bok choy has very large white stems, these stems are nutritionally inferior to the dark green leaves.
Personally, I would toss the stems and just juice the leaves. Not really much more to say about juicing this vegetable other than a masticating juicer is the way to go to get maximum nutrition and juice yield.
Centrifugal juicers are very ineffective at juicing anything leafy. If you are using a centrifugal juicer, wet the bok choy and roll the leaves up into a ball - this creates "more substance" and thus helps the centrifugal blade bite a little more into the leaves.
However, if you intend to juice dark leafy greens on a regular basis you should consider upgrading to a masticating juicer.
Here are 5 Bok choy juice recipes you can make at home and enjoy the health benefits of this awesome cruciferous vegetable.
Like the juice of other cruciferous vegetables, Bok choy juice is not the most appealing to the taste buds.
Mixing it up with the juice of other healthy fruits and veggies will be a more palatable way to consume bok choy. Carrots and apples are 2 excellent choices.
This is as simple as it gets - Bok choy mixed with carrots. Carrots are a sweeter vegetable and will offset the potency of the Bok choy.
This is a variation on the classic V8 juice featuring the wonderful Bok choy. Enjoy the health benefits of Bok choy juice combined with the juice of 7 other awesome, antioxidant-packed vegetables.
Sweeten that Bok choy with some tasty healthy fruits.
Bok choy is one of the most nutritious leafy green vegetables. Combine it with several other leafy green vegetables and you got a green juice that is jam-packed with a high concentration and massive variety of phytonutrients.
Such a concentration and variety provide potent anti-cancer benefits for many types of organs and cells, alkalinity for an anti-disease bodily environment and strong anti-inflammatory effects.
Let's through in a few carrots too and sweeten things up.
Make your body's detoxification and cleansing pathways love you with this detox bok choy juice recipe.
Besides the cleansing qualities of Bok choy, this recipe leans on the powerful detoxification qualities of beets, lemon, parsley, celery and cucumber.
There is a wide variety of Bok choy cultivars available but on the market, there are generally 2 main types that we find: "Bok choy" and Shanghai Bok Choy".
This variety is the one that we see most commonly in American Markets and thus the one you are most likely going to juice if you are picking up your groceries at the store. A farmers market or Asian market are good options if you are looking for more variety.
All of them are highly nutritious and beneficial to health so you can't go wrong.
A distinct feature of the Shanghai Bok choy is its jade green stem and spoon-shaped lighter green leaves.
This is what we would call "regular" or "traditional" Bok choy. It features white and crisp stems and dark crinkly colored leaves and is typically more expensive than Shanghai Bok Choy.
Since the greens are darker than the Shanghai Bok choy, this indicates it contains more chlorophyll.
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