Rhubarb is very healthy

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How healthy is rhubarb?

Having only 15 calories per 100 grams, rhubarb is very low in energy. It contains almost no carbohydrates, but contains many acids and, accordingly, has a sour taste. As such, it’s hardly edible without sweetening, but that doesn’t mean you have to fortify it with spoonfuls of sugar. Add enough sugar to your rhubarb dishes to no longer find it sour! As soon as the local strawberry season starts, you can also count on the classic and perfect combination of sour rhubarb and sweet strawberries.

Among other things, rhubarb contains vitamin K, which strengthens the immune system and stimulates the transport of nutrients into cells. It also contains iron and many essential oils. Vegetables are healthy because they have no cholesterol.

Avoid roots and leaves

Only the stems are edible. Roots and leaves contain very high amounts of oxalic acid and anthraquinone. Anthraquinones have a strong laxative effect and can cause severe poisoning symptoms. Oxalic acid is also not harmless and can be toxic in large quantities. The lethal dose is between 7 and 30 grams of pure oxalic acid. Depending on how ripe they are, 100 grams of rhubarb stems contain only 0.2 to 0.5 grams of oxalic acid.

Toxic levels are not reached by consuming rhubarb dishes, but still the oxalic acid content should be considered. Oxalic acid combines with minerals present in the gut such as calcium and iron. As a result, these important nutrients are no longer available to the body. People with a tendency to calcium oxalate kidney stones can also take advantage of this mechanism for themselves. Consciously consuming foods rich in oxalic acid, such as rhubarb, along with calcium-rich foods such as yogurt.

Harvest only until mid-June

The fact that the rhubarb harvest season ends in mid-June can hardly be attributed to the increased oxalic acid content, as is commonly believed. This is mostly because the vegetable growers want to use the plant for a few years, which is only possible if the rhubarb is given enough regeneration time to give it a plentiful crop again the next year. But it also freezes very well so you can feast on it the rest of the year. But be careful not to balance the fruity acidity with too much sugar. Instead, you can boil the rhubarb with some sweet juice and consume it as a puree or compote. Or, quite boldly, bite into the raw sticks.

Is rhubarb a fruit or a vegetable?

Botanically, it is a vegetable, but it is used more like a fruit and is used to make desserts such as cakes, compotes, jams. Rhubarb is a perennial herb that spends the winter underground on fleshy, thickened roots. The vegetable, which derives its name from the Latin word “Radix barbaris” meaning “root of the barbarians”, has been used in China for 4000 to 5000 years against constipation and plague.

Source : Blick