Kale vs Watercress – Which is Healthier?

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Our Verdict

When comparing kale to watercress, we picked the kale.

Why?

It was very close! If ever we’ve been tempted to call something a tie, this has been the closest so far.

Their macros are close; watercress has a tiny amount more protein and slightly lower carbs, but these numbers are tiny, so it’s not really a factor. Nevertheless, on macros alone we’d call this a slight nominal win for watercress.

In terms of vitamins, they’re even. Watercress has higher vitamin E and choline (sometimes considered a vitamin), as well as being higher in some B vitamins. Kale has higher vitamins A and K, as well as being higher in some other B vitamins.

In the category of minerals, watercress has higher calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium, while kale has higher copper, iron, manganese, and zinc. The margins are slightly wider for kale’s more plentiful minerals though, so we’ll call this section a marginal win for kale.

When it comes to polyphenols, kale takes and maintains the lead here, with around 2x the quercetin and 27x the kaempferol. Watercress does have some lignans that kale doesn’t, but ultimately, kale’s strong flavonoid content keeps it in the lead.

So of course: enjoy both if both are available! But if we must pick one, it’s kale.

Want to learn more?

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  • Our family is always glued to separate devices. How can we connect again?

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    It’s Saturday afternoon and the kids are all connected to separate devices. So are the parents. Sounds familiar?

    Many families want to set ground rules to help them reduce their screen time – and have time to connect with each other, without devices.

    But it can be difficult to know where to start and how to make a plan that suits your family.

    First, look at your own screen time

    Before telling children to “hop off the tech”, it’s important parents understand how much they are using screens themselves.

    Globally, the average person spends an average of six hours and 58 minutes on screens each day. This has increased by 13%, or 49 minutes, since 2013.

    Parents who report high screen time use tend to see this filtering down to the children in their family too. Two-thirds of primary school-aged children in Australia have their own mobile screen-based device.

    Australia’s screen time guidelines recommended children aged five to 17 years have no more than two hours of sedentary screen time (excluding homework) each day. For those aged two to five years, it’s no more than one hour a day. And the guidelines recommend no screen time at all for children under two.

    Yet the majority of children, across age groups, exceed these maximums. A new Australian study released this week found the average three-year-old is exposed to two hours and 52 minutes of screen time a day.

    Some screen time is OK, too much increases risks

    Technology has profoundly impacted children’s lives, offering both opportunities and challenges.

    On one hand, it provides access to educational resources, can develop creativity, facilitates communication with peers and family members, and allows students to seek out new information.

    On the other hand, excessive screen use can result in too much time being sedentary, delays in developmental milestones, disrupted sleep and daytime drowsiness.

    Tired boy looks out the window
    Disrupted sleep can leave children tired the next day.
    Yulia Raneva/Shutterstock

    Too much screen time can affect social skills, as it replaces time spent in face-to-face social interactions. This is where children learn verbal and non-verbal communication, develop empathy, learn patience and how to take turns.

    Many families also worry about how to maintain a positive relationship with their children when so much of their time is spent glued to screens.

    What about when we’re all on devices?

    When families are all using devices simultaneously, it results in less face-to-face interactions, reducing communication and resulting in a shift in family dynamics.

    The increased use of wireless technology enables families to easily tune out from each other by putting in earphones, reducing the opportunity for conversation. Family members wearing earphones during shared activities or meals creates a physical barrier and encourages people to retreat into their own digital worlds.

    Wearing earphones for long periods may also reduce connection to, and closeness with, family members. Research from video gaming, for instance, found excessing gaming increases feelings of isolation, loneliness and the displacement of real-world social interactions, alongside weakened relationships with peers and family members.

    How can I set screen time limits?

    Start by sitting down as a family and discussing what limits you all feel would be appropriate when using TVs, phones and gaming – and when is an appropriate time to use them.

    Have set rules around family time – for example, no devices at the dinner table – so you can connect through face-to-face interactions.

    Mother talks to her family at the dinner table
    One rule might be no devices at the dinner table.
    Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock

    Consider locking your phone or devices away at certain periods throughout the week, such as after 9pm (or within an hour of bedtime for younger children) and seek out opportunities to balance your days with physical activities, such kicking a footy at the park or going on a family bush walk.

    Parents can model healthy behaviour by regulating and setting limits on their own screen time. This might mean limiting your social media scrolling to 15 or 30 minutes a day and keeping your phone in the next room when you’re not using it.

    When establishing appropriate boundaries and ensuring children’s safety, it is crucial for parents and guardians to engage in open communication about technology use. This includes teaching critical thinking skills to navigate online content safely and employing parental control tools and privacy settings.

    Parents can foster a supportive and trusting relationship with children from an early age so children feel comfortable discussing their online experiences and sharing their fears or concerns.

    For resources to help you develop your own family’s screen time plan, visit the Raising Children Network.The Conversation

    Elise Waghorn, Lecturer, School of Education, RMIT University

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • Blood and Water

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Q&A with the 10almonds Team

    Q: I really loved the information about macular degeneration! I was wondering if you have any other advice about looking after eye health?

    A: We may well do a full feature on it sometime! Meanwhile, some top tips include:

    • Eat your greens (as you know from this last Tuesday’s edition of 10almonds)!
    • Exercise! Generally. We’re not talking about eye exercises here, we’re talking about exercises that will support:
      • Healthy heart rate
      • Healthy blood pressure
      • Healthy blood oxygenation
      • Healthy blood sugar levels
      • Healthy blood flow in general (so keep hydrated too! There’s a reason phlebotomists ask you to be well-hydrated before they take blood)

    Eye health is a good indicator for a lot of other things, and that’s because whether or not the eyes are the window to your soul, they’re definitely the window to what your blood’s like, and that affects (and is affected by) so many other things.

    • On that note, don’t smoke!
    • Protect your eyes physically, too. This means:
      • UV-blocking sunglasses when appropriate
      • Protective eye-wear when appropriate

    You think safety glasses are for laboratories and construction sites, then you go and do comparable tasks in your home? Your eyes are just as damageable in your kitchen or garden as they would be in a lab or workshop.

    Some bits and bobs that can help:

    • Safety sunglasses! Because a thing can do two jobs (useful in the garden now the days are brightening up!)
    • Pulse oximeter! Check your own heart rate, pulse strength, and blood oxygenation at home!
    • Blood pressure monitor! Because it’s so important for a lot of things and you really should have one.

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  • Dates vs Banana – Which is Healthier?

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    Our Verdict

    When comparing dates to banana, we picked the dates.

    Why?

    It was close, and bananas do have some strengths too! We pitted these two against each other as they’re both sweet fruits often used as a sweetening and consistency-altering ingredient in desserts and sweet snacks, so if you’re making a choice between them, here are the things to consider:

    In terms of macros, dates have more than 3x the fiber, more than 2x the protein, and a little over 3x the carbs. You may be wondering how this adds up in terms of glycemic index: dates have the lower GI. So, we pick dates, here, for that reason and overall nutritional density too.

    When it comes to vitamins, bananas have their moment, albeit barely: dates have more of vitamins B1, B3, B5, and K, while bananas have more of vitamins A, B6, C, E, and choline, making for a marginal victory for bananas in this category.

    Looking at minerals next, however, it’s quite a different story: dates have more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, while bananas are not higher in any mineral. No, not even potassium, for which they are famous—dates have nearly 2x more potassium than bananas.

    Adding up these sections makes for a clear win for dates in general!

    Enjoy either/both, but dates are the more nutritious snack/ingredient.

    Want to learn more?

    You might like to read:

    From Apples to Bees, and High-Fructose Cs: Which Sugars Are Healthier, And Which Are Just The Same?

    Take care!

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  • The Miracle of Flexibility – by Miranda Esmonde-White

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    We’ve reviewed books about stretching before, so what makes this one different?

    Mostly, it’s that this one takes a holistic approach, making the argument for looking after all parts of flexibility (even parts that might seem useless) because if one bit of us isn’t flexible, the others will start to suffer in compensation because of how that affects our posture, or movement, or in many cases our lack of movement.

    Esmonde-White’s “flexibility, from your toes to your shoulders” approach is very consistent with her background as a professional ballet dancer, and now she brings it into her profession as a coach.

    The book’s not just about stretching, though. It looks at problems and what can go wrong with posture and the body’s “musculoskeletal trifecta”, and also shares daily training routines that are tailored for specific sporting interests, and/or for those with specific chronic conditions and/or chronic pain. Working around what needs to be worked around, but also looking at strengthening what can be strengthened and fixing what can be fixed along the way.

    Bottom line: if your flexibility needs an overhaul, this book is a very good “one-stop shop” for that.

    Click here to check out The Miracle Of Flexibility, and discover what you can do!

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  • Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety – by Dr. Drew Ramsey

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Most of us could use a little mood boost sometimes, and some of us could definitely stand to have our baseline neurochemistry elevated a bit. We’ve probably Googled “foods to increase dopamine”, and similar phrases. So, why is this a book, and not just an article saying to eat cashews and dark chocolate?

    Dr. Drew Ramsey takes a holistic approach to health. By this we mean that to have good health, the whole body and mind must be kept healthy. Let a part slip, and the others will soon follow. Improve a part, and the others will soon follow, too.

    Of course, there is only so much that diet can do. Jut as no diet will replace a Type 1 Diabetic’s pancreas with a working one, no diet will treat the causes of some kinds of depression and anxiety.

    For this reason, Dr. Ramsey, himself a psychiatrist (and a farmer!) recommends a combination of talking therapy and diet, with medications as a “third leg” to be included when necessary. The goal, for him, is to reduce dependence on medications, while still recognizing when they can be useful or even necessary.

    As for the practical, actionable advices in the book, he does (unsurprisingly) recommend a Mediterranean diet. Heavy on the greens and beans, plenty of colorful fruit and veg, small amounts of fish and seafood, even smaller amounts of grass-fed beef and fermented dairy. He also discusses a bunch of “superfoods” he particularly recommends.

    Nor does he just hand-wave the process; he talks about the science of how and why each of these things helps.

    And in practical terms, he even devotes some time to helping the reader get our kitchen set up, if we’re not already ready-to-go in that department. He also caters to any “can’t cook / won’t cook” readers and how to work around that too.

    Bottom line: if you’d like to get rewiring your brain (leveraging neuroplasticity is a key component of the book), this will get you on track. A particular strength is how the author “thinks of everything” in terms of common problems that people (especially: depressed and anxious people!) might have in implementing his advices.

    Click here to check out “Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety” and get rebuilding your brain for a happier future!

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  • Celery vs Rhubarb – Which is Healthier?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Our Verdict

    When comparing celery to rhubarb, we picked the rhubarb.

    Why?

    In terms of macros, rhubarb has more carbs and fiber, the ratio of which give it the lower glycemic index, though both are low glycemic index foods. This means this category is a very marginal win for rhubarb.

    When it comes to vitamins, rhubarb has more vitamin C, while celery has more of vitamins A, B5, B6, and B9. A win for celery, this time.

    In the category of minerals, rhubarb has more calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, and selenium, while celery has more copper and phosphorus. This one’s a win for rhubarb.

    Let’s give a quick nod also to polyphenols; rhubarb has more by overall quantity, and more in terms of “more useful to humans” too, being rich in an assortment of flavanols while celery must make do with some furanocoumarins.

    In short, enjoy either or both, but nutritional density is a great reason to get some rhubarb in!

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    Take care!

    Don’t Forget…

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