You may have seen that parsley on your plate and thought of it as just a decoration. And while parsley is often used as a pretty garnish, it also has many health benefits.

It turns out that parsley is very high in antioxidants. These chemicals help to prevent disease and improve your overall health. They also slow down the aging process. Specifically, parsley contains luteolin, vitamin A, and vitamin C that are powerful antioxidants.

Parsley can help you to improve your immunity to disease. Because it’s packed with vitamin C it naturally supports healthy immunity. It also helps your body to repair the connective tissue collage in the body. Eating parsley can help you to have stronger bones and teeth and repair more quickly from cuts and scratches.

The vitamin K found in parsley helps to protect your body from hardened arteries and heart disease. It keeps calcium from building up in your blood vessels and collecting as plaque. It also helps to keep your bones strong.

Vitamin K also offers protection for your nerve cells and can strengthen your nervous system and prevent disorders of it.

The natural oils in parsley are also known to fight cancer. Specifically, you can reduce your risk of colon cancer and prostate cancer. You can even get some protection from the carcinogens in cigarette smoke, though parsley won’t make it a good idea to pick up smoking.

Diseases that are related to inflammation can also see improvement when eating parsley regularly. Arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and autoimmune diseases can all be helped by adding this nutrient to your diet.

How much parsley do you need to eat in order to get the benefit? It turns out that you only need about two tablespoons of fresh parsley each day to get the vitamins and antioxidants it provides in high levels.

Parsley is delicious in its own right. It makes a great compliment to many dishes either raw or cooked. However, when it’s raw you’ll get the greatest benefits from it.

And, on a cosmetic level, the oils and texture of parsley help to clean your teeth and freshen your breath after a meal. This is great when you don’t have time to brush your teeth between meals. So, instead of leaving the parsley on the plate, next time go ahead and eat a bit of the garnish to get the health benefits.

You’ll walk away with fresh breath and an army of nutrients to help keep your body healthy and young.