Artichoke is a plant from central Europe and the Mediterranean region. Folk medicine practitioners have been paying attention to artichoke as a medicinal remedy since Aristotle’s time in ancient Greece . While eating whole artichokes gives you amazing health benefits, the therapeutic qualities of the plant have also been isolated in the form of artichoke leaf extract, which can give you a more therapeutic dose. Artichoke leaf extract comes from the long, serrated leaves of artichokes. These aren’t as delicious as artichoke hearts, but they contain the most highly concentrated active compounds, including flavonoids and caffeoylquinic acids.
In ancient times, the Greeks and Romans used artichoke as a digestive aid and to improve liver function. More recent research has corroborated these uses, and also connected artichoke to powerful antioxidants and cholesterol-lowering abilities
1. Impressive Fiber Content
Artichokes have a higher fiber content than most vegetables, making it helpful for digestion and weight loss. Every 100 grams of artichoke contains 5 grams of fiber . Women need 25 grams of fiber a day, and men need 38 grams. Fiber helps keep bowel movements regular by bulking up and softening stool. Eating more artichokes helps with weight loss efforts because it’s low in calories but high in fiber, making you feel full . Therefore, it’s great to add to your diet if you’re trying to lower your daily intake of calories.
2. Protects Your Liver
Artichoke leaf extract has been used for centuries as a liver tonic. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents in artichokes help protect and improve the functioning of your liver by damaged liver cells . Artichoke leaf extract can reverse the effects of fatty liver by reducing fat and cholesterol levels in the liver .
It’s in the same family as milk thistle, which is well known for its ability to help detoxify the liver and improve its function. In a test tube study on the effects of artichoke on the liver, researchers found that artichoke extract protected human liver cells and minimized damage caused by a powerful toxin .
3. Helps Boost Bile Production
Artichoke boosts the production of bile, which helps your body break down fats and carry toxins out of the liver. Without enough bile, you can experience excess gas and bloating due because of its role in digesting fats. Bile is also essential for the assimilation of fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A, D, E and K. The liver plays a huge role in the body’s detoxification process, but bile is responsible for carrying toxins out of the liver and into the intestines to be eliminated. A lack of sufficient bile levels can cause a buildup of toxins and cholesterol in the liver, and it can cause constipation due to bile’s role in intestinal contractions .
4. Helps Lower Cholesterol
Artichoke leaf extract can be helpful for people struggling with high cholesterol levels, as it’s been shown to lower them without adverse side effects. In a study on rats, researchers discovered that artichoke leaf extract produces this cholesterol-lowering effect by increasing the flow of bile, which carries excess cholesterol out the body . Cholesterol builds up in arteries, blocking the flow of blood, raising blood pressure and putting you at risk of heart attack or stroke.
5. Provides Prebiotics
Artichokes are a source of prebiotics in the form of inulin, which feeds probiotics–the beneficial bacteria that colonize your gut. Probiotics improve digestion by breaking down undigested food particles and extracting nutrients from food. They’re a Without prebiotic foods, healthy levels of probiotics in the gut are harder to maintain .
6. Helps Lowers Blood Pressure
In a study on patients with hypertension (characterized by high blood pressure levels), artichoke leaf extract was found to significantly lower high blood pressure after 12 weeks at doses of 50 and 100 milligrams per day . Hypertension increases the risk of heart attack and stroke, which is why it’s important to keep your blood pressure under control with health-promoting foods like artichokes.
7. Helps Alzheimer’s Patients
Artichokes contain multiple plant compounds with neuroprotective properties, which can help prevent or treat Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. Artichoke works to improve brain function by providing a rich source of antioxidants and vitamin K. Antioxidants protect the brain from oxidative stress, which increases with age and is linked to neurodegenerative diseases. Vitamin K is known to reduce neuron damage, preserving brain health and cognitive function as a result. Artichoke leaf extract acts as a vasodilator, widening blood vessels so that more oxygen and nutrients can get to the brain. As a result, it boosts its function, and even reduces symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease .
Reaping the Benefits of Artichokes
Getting more artichokes in your diet can help with weight loss efforts and give you a great source of several nutrients, such as B vitamins, vitamins A, E, and K, as well as calcium, zinc, potassium, manganese, and phosphorus . You can also take artichoke leaf extract as a digestive aid to promote bile flow, support probiotics in the gut and protect the liver, which plays a critical role in digestion. Artichoke leaf extract has no known side effects, except in people with bile duct obstruction and gallstones. It’s not the same as Jerusalem artichoke, which is a different plant .
Artichoke is a food and supplement that benefits your entire digestive tract with prebiotics and by increasing the flow of bile. The medicinal benefits of artichokes are mostly present in their leaves, so taking artichoke leaf extract as a supplement will give you much better effects than eating artichokes or artichoke hearts. Artichoke has been traditionally used in medicine to improve gastrointestinal health, but has recently been found also to help lower cholesterol and boost brain function.