Parsnip

Parsnip

1 cup parsnip (cooked) contains:

102 cal;
2 gm protein (incomplete);
.7 gm fat;
23 gm carbohydrate;
70 mg calcium;
96 mg phosphorus;
.9 mg iron;
12 mg sodium;
587 mg potassium;
46 units A;
.1 mg B-1;
.1 mg B-2;
.15 mg niacin;
15 mg C;
49 mg magnesium.

One of the less appreciated of the root vegetables, parsnips should be care fully cooked for the best taste; if they are boiled in water they quickly become waterlogged and lose much of their sugar content. They should be cooked quickly with low heat. Parsnips are a good source of calcium, needed for strong bones and teeth, for proper function of muscles, heart, and nerves, and for proper clotting of blood; of potassium, an aid to proper muscle tone, especially of the heart, and for the enzyme reactions in the body that help change sugar to energy: and of magnesium, needed for metabolism of calcium and vitamin C and for proper functioning of muscular and nervous systems. The sugar and B vitamins in parsnips can help produce energy. Sin parsnips are high in roughage, they may aid in digestion find problems of constipation, and the vitamin and mineral contents give them a slightly diuretic property.