The endive diet

With 20 calories per 100 grams raw, endive is a key food for weight loss diets. Queen of detox diets, it has a high diuretic and depurative power: endive stimulates the production of urine. It is particularly recommended to help eliminate toxins and prevent water retention. Consumed at the beginning of a meal, it stimulates the production of digestive juices: this action makes it possible to better break down the ingested foods and facilitate digestion without assimilating a large part of the fats in the diet.

Rich in non-soluble dietary fiber, endive provides a natural appetite suppressant by filling the food bowl quickly.

Endive: a solution against cholesterol?

About 70% of the weight of endive is concentrated inulin: this food fiber assimilated to fructans is a so-called soluble fiber and not digestible by the intestine. This fiber has the main function of acting as a fatty acid magnet: consuming endive thus has an action on the reduction of blood triglycerides by absorbing fatty acids from the diet, preventing them from being assimilated by the organization. Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of endives on hypercholesterolemic patients who have had their "bad" cholesterol levels drop a few hours after a snack made of chicory.

Vitamins and minerals of endive

A source of various trace elements, endive presents in particular large doses of vitamin A , vitamin B9 and copper. Vitamin A and copper are known to work together with the main antioxidant enzymes in the body. They also enter the process of tissue repair, collagen production and scarring. As for vitamin B9, it is mainly recommended for pregnant women because it plays an essential role in the normal development of the fetus, the production of DNA and the reinforcement of the immune system.