Health
Health benefits of rhubarb and how to uniquely include the vegetable in your diet, as shared by an expert
Rhubarb is a vegetable that visually appears to resemble celery in texture — but its color and taste are differentiating factors between the two.
Rhubarb has an extremely tart flavor, and it is very rarely eaten on its own due to its sour notes. It’s often combined with sugar in sweet treats like pie or jam.
Even though rhubarb is often used in desserts, it’s actually full of health benefits.
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While combining rhubarb with sugar may not be the healthiest approach to take, there are plenty of other healthy ways to counteract rhubarb’s sour flavor.
Find out more about the health benefits of rhubarb and how you can easily incorporate it into your diet below.
Rhubarb is packed with health benefits. The vegetable is often used in desserts, but can also be used in healthier ways for its benefits to take full effect. (Getty Images)
- Improves bone health
- Is rich in antioxidants
- Aids digestion
- Can help regulate blood pressure
- Has the potential to lower bad cholesterol levels
1. Improves bone health
There are many different vitamins present in rhubarb.
One of these is vitamin K, an important contributor to overall bone health as well as blood clotting.
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“Just one cup of rhubarb has almost half of your vitamin K needs,” Lauri Wright, associate professor of nutrition and dietetics at the University of South Florida and registered dietitian nutritionist, told Fox News Digital.
Wright added that though most people don’t take Coumadin anymore for blood thinning, those who are on medication should be extra cautious of rhubarb consumption since vitamin K and Coumadin don’t interact well.
Even though rhubarb is a vegetable, it has a tart flavor — which is why it’s often paired with fruits such as strawberries in desserts like pie. (Natasha Breen/REDA/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Calcium is also apparent in rhubarb, another contributor to bone health, as well as vitamin C, great for a nice immune boost.
“It’s also rich in calcium, which helps with bone health, and vitamin C, which boosts your immunity and is involved in collagen production for healthy skin and tissues,” Wright said.
2. Is rich in antioxidants
Rhubarb is full of antioxidants.
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The antioxidants in rhubarb do far more than just give the vegetable its color.
“Rhubarb is really high in antioxidants, and those are kind of these compounds that give the rhubarb its reddish color, but those compounds in the body help take down inflammation and protect the cells from damage… some of the damage that could eventually lead to cancer cells,” Wright explained.
Rhubarb does resemble celery in its texture, but its color and taste make the vegetables very different. (Christoph Soeder/picture alliance via Getty Images)
3. Aids digestion
Rhubarb is a vegetable high in fiber.
“[Rhubarb is] rich in fiber, so it really helps with digestion. [It] has a pretty good source of fiber per serving,” Wright told Fox News Digital.
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That said, the amount of fiber in rhubarb shouldn’t lead to any GI issues, Wright added.
The part of the vegetable to be mindful of is the leaves. While rhubarb stalks boast impressive health benefits, the leaves should be left alone.
“The leaves actually contain oxalic acid, which, if you eat a lot of it, can be toxic, and it also, for some people, can build stones in the kidneys. So you always want to trim the leaves before you cook the rhubarb,” Wright noted.
Rhubarb has just the right amount of fiber; it can aid digestion but shouldn’t cause any digestive issues. (Rey Lopez for The Washington Post via Getty Images; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
4. Can help regulate blood pressure
Rhubarb has the potential to regulate blood pressure.
The high potassium content in the vegetable is what strongly contributes to this potential health benefit, Wright told Fox News Digital.
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“It’s high in potassium,” Wright said. “Potassium helps regulate blood pressure [and] helps with better blood pressure control.”
5. Has the potential to lower bad cholesterol levels
Rhubarb stalks may have the capability to lower bad cholesterol levels.
“Studies have actually shown that rhubarb stalks can help lower the LDL cholesterol, or the bad cholesterol … just a few, but there’s some promise there,” Wright said.
If you want to begin to incorporate rhubarb into your diet in a healthy way to see all of its potential benefits, one easy way to do so is by using it as an ingredient in salsa.
Rhubarb can be one of many ingredients blended into a delicious and nutritious smoothie. (iStock)
“One really fun idea is [to] add rhubarb to your salsa,” Wright said. “Dice up rhubarb along with mango, red onion, lime juice, cilantro. That makes a really tangy salsa, and it’s perfect to put on top of grilled fish or chicken.”
Another easy way to incorporate pretty much any fruit or vegetable into a diet is by blending it into a smoothie.
“Add rhubarb to your smoothie with strawberries, Greek yogurt, a little drizzle of honey and maybe some spinach, and that’s going to be like a really fun mix of flavors that is packed with nutrition,” Wright explained.
A nutrient-rich smoothie is a super simple way for those who have a hard time meeting daily recommended intakes of fruits and vegetables to get the vitamins and minerals they need.
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The keto diet may help individuals with anorexia nervosa, new research from UC San Diego School of Medicine suggests.
The small study, published in the journal Nature, enrolled 22 women between 18 and 45 years old who had a history of anorexia nervosa and a BMI (body mass index) above 17.5.
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric disorder involving food restriction and low body weight, the researchers describe. This is often followed by body dissatisfaction, an intense fear of eating, and a preoccupation with body shape and size even after weight restoration.
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The participants followed a ketogenic therapy plan for 14 weeks, aiming for a diet consisting of 70% fat, 20% protein and 10% carbohydrates, according to a press release.
The participants followed a ketogenic therapy plan for 14 weeks, aiming for a diet consisting of 70% fat, 20% protein and 10% carbohydrates. (iStock)
The goal was to maintain weight while inducing nutritional ketosis — a metabolic state in which the body produces and uses ketones for energy because carbohydrate intake is low enough to shift metabolism toward fat burning.
The researchers monitored the participants via ketone testing, weekly weight checks, symptom questionnaires, and nutritional and psychiatric support.
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Among the remaining 18 participants, eating disorder symptoms reportedly improved in several areas, including restraint, depression scores, and concern with eating, shape and weight.
Overall scores on the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) also improved, with 72% of participants scoring in the recovered or normal range.
Eating disorder symptoms reportedly improved in several areas, according to the study findings. (iStock)
The participants’ body weight did not change significantly, and no BMI fell below 17.5, according to the results.
Those who continued to follow ketogenic therapy three months after the intervention had slightly better EDE-Q scores.
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The study authors concluded that ketogenic dietary therapy is “well-tolerated” and demonstrated “potential efficacy” in reducing anorexia nervosa symptoms in adults who are mildly underweight or weight-restored.
Although the study was “sufficiently powered,” the authors noted that the small sample size of predominantly White females limits the scope of the findings.
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“Future research should replicate these findings in more diverse populations and incorporate objective assessments of brain function, such as metabolic PET imaging, to assess brain glucose metabolism,” they wrote.
Those who continued to follow ketogenic therapy three months after the intervention had slightly better scores on the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire. (iStock)
Lead study author Guido Frank, MD, professor of psychiatry at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, who has studied and treated anorexia patients for more than 25 years, launched this study to broaden treatment options for this high-risk population.
Frank wrote in a statement that new approaches to anorexia nervosa are “urgently” needed.
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“Our work with ketogenic therapy looks beyond standard therapies and potentially at the underlying physiology of the disorder,” he went on.
“Growing evidence links anorexia nervosa to neurometabolic dysfunction, and we are hopeful that direct metabolic intervention can regulate neural function and address the psychological symptoms patients experience.”
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A new injectable therapy is showing positive results in reducing melanoma throughout a five-year period.
The personalized mRNA cancer therapy, called intismeran autogene, combined with the cancer immunotherapy drug KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), is a collaboration between Merck and Moderna.
The results from the phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 study were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago on May 27.
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After about a five-year follow-up, the combo drug was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone.
The researchers analyzed data from 157 patients with high-risk stage 3 and 4 melanoma whose cancer had been removed via surgery. The participants were split into two groups — one received the combo therapy and the other only received pembrolizumab, according to a press release.
The therapy was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone after a five-year follow-up. (iStock)
The findings revealed that the combination group saw benefits that were “sustained and durable over time.”
Intismeran autogene is designed using mutations identified in a patient’s own tumor, with the intention of teaching the immune system what the cancer looks like so that it can recognize and attack it.
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According to the researchers, intismeran is “well-tolerated” with a “manageable” safety profile.
The most commonly cited side effects of the personalized mRNA vaccine plus KEYTRUDA were fatigue, injection-site pain, chills, fever and headache. The researchers reported no new long-term safety concerns and no severe vaccine-related adverse events.
The combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study — the final confirmation stage.
Patients with late-stage melanoma have a “significant risk” of cancer recurrence, according to an expert. (iStock)
In a Merck press release from January, Kyle Holen, MD, Moderna’s senior vice president and head of development, oncology and therapeutics, noted that this data highlights the “potential of a prolonged benefit … in patients with resected high-risk melanoma.”
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“We continue to invest in our platform in oncology because of encouraging outcomes like these, which illustrate mRNA’s potential in cancer care,” he said.
Dr. Marjorie Green, senior vice president and head of oncology, global clinical development at Merck Research Laboratories, also commented that for many patients with stage 3 or 4 melanoma, there is a “significant risk of recurrence following surgery.”
Researchers confirmed that the combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study. (iStock)
“As such, demonstrating the longer-term potential of intismeran autogene and KEYTRUDA to reduce the risk of recurrence for certain patients with melanoma is a meaningful milestone,” she said.
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The company cited encouraging five-year follow-up data and pointed to upcoming late-stage INTerpath trial results with Moderna in several hard-to-treat cancers.
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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