I like mustard and use nearly every day with my meals and on sandwiches but the rest of my family hates it. Is it healthy to eat it so often? JW.
Like most foods with ancient roots, mustard is attributed with many healing properties. Certainly, it has been shown to stimulate appetite and aid digestion, and clears the sinuses in much the same way as chillies, which are said to be as effective as commercial decongestants.
Mustard increases blood circulation, hence its use as mustard plaster, a dressing used to bring increased blood flow to inflamed areas of the body. Mustard flour sprinkled in your socks is said to save your toes from frostbite, a claim that is also made about cayenne pepper and other spices containing volatile oils. Great for anyone living in Alaska!
One of mustard's greatest health benefits is that it provides tremendous flavour for only a few calories and little fat and a gram of mustard flour contains just 4.3 calories.
Mustard itself contains no cholesterol, only trace amounts of vegetable fat, and is between 25-32% protein, depending on the variety of plant. Leaf mustard contains calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and Vitamin B.
If you do not feel that you are suffering from using mustard so frequently then keep on enjoying the flavour and certainly using this as an accompaniment to your food rather than too much salt is much better for your health.
For more information on nutrients and superfoods visit www.justfoodforhealth.com and if you have any questions that you would like included in the Health and Vitality mailbag send them in strict confidence to sally@moyhill.com
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