Integrative Medicine supports your daily self-care habits by giving you more direction in your overall health. We’ll look into habits that can change how you feel about yourself.
Most diet fads are based on highly restrictive eating patterns that are almost impossible to maintain consistently and integrate into real life. Instead, consider adding foods to your diet that are rich in fiber, micronutrients, and protein to keep you satisfied. Focusing on how well you can support your body while eating delicious foods creates a reward system that encourages you to come back to healthy eating again and again. Herbs, like parsley, are an easy addition to your diet that pack a nutritional punch!
Benefits of Parsley
Parsley is an herb which provides support for liver health, kidney function, and reduces inflammation because it is rich in antioxidants. Topical applications of parsley have also been shown to improve cell repair in cases of melanoma and overall dermatitis. Quercetin is a plant pigment found in parsley that can help stabilize immune responses to allergies, and likely reduce the risk of neurodegenerative conditions, cancers, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, high cholesterol, and blood clots (1).
Approximately 96% of people do not have negative symptoms associated with higher levels of parsley. This means most people will only benefit from adding parsley to their diet, even in higher amounts. However, please consult your physician prior to herb usage for more information about treatments, quantity, and potential interactions with medications or medical conditions. Consuming parsley may improve muscle cramps while external applications may improve dermatitis and psoriasis-type skin ailments (1). During menstruation or other intense hormonal shifts, increased parsley in your diet or high-quality parsley extract, according to your doctor’s recommendations, might help ease some common symptoms. A great way to increase parsley in your diet is by throwing together some Tabbouleh.
Tabbouleh Recipe:
Prepare this tabbouleh salad as an appetizer, snack, or side to boost your parsley intake. Keep in mind, it’s best eaten fresh, but can be kept refrigerated for up to three days. “This traditional Lebanese Tabbouleh Salad recipe is a healthy vegan Mediterranean appetizer made with bulgur, parsley, mint and vegetables.” We recommend this recipe from Feel Good Foodie, created by Yumna Jawad (2). To view the full recipe page, click here. Yumna includes a step-by-step video tutorial on how to make a parsley-loaded, authentic tabbouleh.
Ingredients:
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup fine #1 bulgur wheat (or cooked and cooled quinoa)
- 3 bunches fresh curly parsley finely chopped (about 3 packed cups)
- 2 firm tomatoes finely chopped
- 2 green onions finely chopped
- ¼ cup fresh mint finely chopped
Directions:
- Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well combined. Stir in the bulgur (or cooked and cooled quinoa). Let the grains soak up the dressing until they are plump and most of the moisture is absorbed for about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the parsley, tomatoes, green onions, and mint to one side of the large bowl with the bulgur, but don’t mix yet.
- When the bulgur is plump, and the lemon-olive oil mixture is mostly absorbed, stir everything together until well combined. Serve at room temperature or chilled from the fridge.
For more information about herbs and dietary changes that can improve your health and wellness, contact Dr. Lisa Mainier to schedule a consultation. Salus Integrative Medicine provides whole-body solutions using conventional medicine practices along with highly-effective, and science-based, medical treatments.
Sources:
- Ganea, M., Vicaș, L. G., Gligor, O., Sarac, I., Onisan, E., Nagy, C., Moisa, C., & Ghitea, T. C. (2024). Exploring the Therapeutic Efficacy of Parsley (Petroselinum crispum Mill.) as a Functional Food: Implications in Immunological Tolerability, Reduction of Muscle Cramps, and Treatment of Dermatitis. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 29(3), 608. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29030608
Found at : https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10856782/#abstract1 - Jawad, Y. (2018). Lebanese Tabbouleh Salad. In FeelGoodFoodie. https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/traditional-lebanese-tabbouleh-salad/