High in nutrients and especially vitamin K watercress is remarkably low in calories. Unlike many other media-promoted 'super foods' it tops the list of such compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Watercress is one of oldest leaf vegetables consumed by humans. Hippocrates, father of modern medicine, used it to treat patients about 400 B.C. Later it became a staple of Roman soldiers as they brought the Pax Romana across much of Europe, along with a portion of Africa and Asia. Throughout medieval Europe on into the 19th century it remained popular, picked from the wild. It was first grown commercially in Britain in 1808 by Kent horticulturist William Bradbury.
High in nutrients and especially vitamin K watercress is remarkably low in calories. Unlike many other media-promoted 'super foods' it tops the list of such compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
