“The Health Benefits of Butterbur: High in Calcium to Prevent Osteoporosis and More”

Butterbur is a seasonal vegetable that comes out in spring. Butterbur, which belongs to Asteraceae, is also called mou, megu, meogwi, butterbur, and butterbur. Butterbur uses petioles as vegetables, and sometimes young flowers are also eaten. Butterbur sprouts are good for the bones of menopausal women with bone loss. What are the health effects?

◆ Seasoned salad, ssam vegetables, green juice, salad, boiled food, soup, stew…

After slightly blanching the stems, butterbur is peeled and eaten as a seasoning. These days, it is also added to green juice, salads, stews, soups, and stews. Before use, you need to peel off the outer skin of the leaves and stems. Since the skin is quite thick, you can easily peel it off after boiling it in salt water. When purchasing, it is good that the leaves do not wither and the stem is hard when pressed. The stem should not be too thick or too thin, and it is better if the stem is straight.

◆ Helps with eye health, relieves cough and phlegm… The bitter taste of butterbur is a polyphenol component

The bitter taste of butterbur is due to its rich polyphenol content (National Institute of Agricultural Sciences). It acts as an antioxidant that reduces oxidation (aging-damage) of the body. This ingredient is water-soluble, so blanching the butterbur can help reduce the bitter taste of butterbur. The leaves contain a lot of vitamin A, which is good for eye health, and other vitamins are relatively evenly contained, but the stem is less. There are cases in which the elderly drink a decoction to reduce dry cough and phlegm.

◆ Worried about bone health?… High in calcium, helps prevent bone loss diseases such as osteoporosis

According to a thesis published in the Journal of the Korean Society of Food and Nutritional Science, butterbur extract was studied for its effect on osteoblast differentiation and bone formation. It is expected to have a positive impact on the development of preventive and therapeutic drugs for various bone defect diseases, including osteoporosis. Butterbur is high in calcium, which helps bone health in menopausal women at risk of osteopenia.

◆ Diet, intestinal health-constipation prevention… Goes well with perilla

Butterbur is low in calories and is helpful for dieting. It has a lot of vitamins B1 and B2 that relieve fatigue and is rich in dietary fiber, so it is good for intestinal health and prevention of constipation. It also aids in digestion. Adding perilla seed juice to butterbur herbs softens the taste and improves the fragrance. Butterbur, which is rich in dietary fiber, and unsaturated fatty acids from perilla seeds, which reduce cholesterol, combine to help prevent vascular disease.

◆ How do you like the butterbur sprout egg?

Prepare vegetables such as cherry tomatoes in butterbur sprouts. 1) Cut the thick stems of butterbur sprouts, and divide cherry tomatoes into 2 parts. 2) Whisk the ingredients for the egg wash in a bowl with chopsticks. 3) Put salt (a little bit) and butterbur shoots in boiling water, blanch for 30 seconds, then rinse in cold water and squeeze out water. 4) Heat cooking oil in a pan over medium heat, add butterbur sprouts and fry a little more. 5) Pour egg water, add cherry tomatoes, reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook. 6) When the egg water is hard cooked, take it out, cool it, slice it, and serve it with ketchup.