No Christmas dinner would be complete without roasted parsnips.
Deliciously sweet, with an earthy flavour, the parsnip is in season throughout September until March.
An 80g serving of them contributes to one of your five-a-day.
If parsnips are on your Christmas dinner plate this year, you’ll be please to know that they have some great health benefits.
Great for the gut
Parsnips are rich both soluble and insoluble fibre, meaning they’re great for the digestive system and other gut-related conditions, such as reflux and diverticulitis.
Good source of antioxidants
Parsnips are a source of active plant compounds, such as furanocoumarins, flavonoids and polyacetylenes, which have anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-cancer properties.
Keep you calm
Falcarinol, which is found in parsnips and carrots, is absorbed and can cross the blood brain barrier, where it may have a calming, sedative effect. This could explain why we feel sleepy after a big meal like Christmas dinner!
Support immune function
One serving of parsnips contains a fifth of your recommended intake of vitamin C. Vitamin C is great for the body, contributing to our immune defences.
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