Even the most devoted meat eaters would testify to the fact that food, some foods anyway, are nothing without herbs and/or spices and cilantro is an herb appreciated among many cooks for making food tastier and among nutritionists for providing a plethora of health benefits.
Cilantro is used a lot in Mexican dishes – in fact the herb is referred to as Mexican parsley in some areas (although cilantro and parsley aren’t exactly the same thing), but also pairs nicely with recipes particular to almost every country in the world, the list including Middle Eastern, Latin American, Indian, Chinese and Mediterranean.
What’s more, cilantro is as much an herb as it is a spice because the plant carries aromatic seeds known as coriander seeds which provide their own set of health benefits.
Confusion in the name
Although cilantro and parsley look very similar, they aren’t the same herb and a majority of people, especially those not into the culinary arts, find it difficult to distinguish between them.
While both cilantro and parsley belong to the Apiaceae botanical family and both are used in cooking, there are notable differences between them:
- Cilantro is an annual herb while parsley is biennial;
- All parts from cilantro are used in cooking including leaves, seeds, stems, and roots while only the leaves are used from cilantro;
- Cilantro leaves have been described to carry a soapy taste while parsley leaves are appreciated for having a mild, pleasant flavor.
The best way to distinguish between cilantro and parsley is to pay attention to the formation of leaves. Leaves from cilantro are curved while parsley has pointy leaves.
Cilantro – a great source of vitamins and minerals
Cilantro is a low-calorie herb, free of cholesterol but counting an impressive amount of antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins among which vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, quercetin, and epigenin. The following represents the nutrient value provided by 100 grams fresh cilantro.
Vitamins
Folate 62µg
Niacin 1.114 mg
Pantothenic acid 0.570 mg
Pyridoxine 0.149 mg
Riboflavin 0.162 mg
Thiamin 0.067 mg
Vitamin A 6748 mg
Vitamin C 27 mg
Vitamin E 2.50 mg
Vitamin K 310 mcg
Minerals
Calcium 67 mg
Iron 1.77 mg
Magnesium 26 mg
Manganese 0.426 mg
Phosphorus 48 mg
Selenium 0.9 mg
Zinc 0.50 mg
Potassium 521 mg
Sodium 46 mg
The same serving amount of 100 grams fresh cilantro contains only 23 calories while providing 2.80 grams dietary fiber, 2.13 grams protein and 3.67 grams carbohydrates.
The most relevant health benefits of cilantro
- One of the most positive effects of cilantro is its ability to rid the body of toxic metals such as aluminum, arsenic, and mercury to name only three. The way it detoxifies and cleanses the body is through binding the metals together and loosening them from the muscle tissue so that eventually these toxic metals are eliminated from the body.
- Toxic metals usually accumulate in the endocrine system, sometimes even within the bones, this leading to undesirable conditions such as heart disease, infertility, and hormonal imbalances. Including cilantro in your daily diet will accelerate the toxic metal cleansing process.
- Because it contains a number of powerful antioxidants, cilantro protects against oxidative stress and the diseases associated with this imbalance. Cilantro is known to reduce the risk of degenerative diseases such as arthritis, macular degeneration, and Alzheimer’s diseases, even protecting against certain types of cancer.
- Further relevant is that due to the high concentration of potassium, cilantro is able to control blood pressure and protect against cardiovascular disease.