Don't let your chickens get to the chickweed in your yard before you do -- often considered a weed much-loved by chickens, you can also use the wild winter green in salads or braised as a side dish. Chickweed is naturally low in calories and fat, and it also provides you with several nutrients.
Basic Nutrition
A 1-oz. serving of dried chickweed contains 96 calories and 1 g of fat. Whether used dried, reconstituted or fresh, this makes chickweed useful for calorie or fat-restricted eating plans. Each serving provides 15 g of carbohydrates and serves as a source of fiber. The 8 g of fiber per serving of chickweed accounts for 21 to 32 percent of the fiber you need each day and may ward off diabetes. Chickweed has 6 g of protein per serving as well.
Vitamins
Chickweed contains 4 percent of the daily recommended intake of vitamin A per serving. Vitamin A benefits your eyes, and it's especially important to make sure children get the vitamin A they need each day. A February 2011 article in "The Economist" says that up to 500,000 children become blind annually due to vitamin A deficiency. Chickweed also provides vitamin C and several B vitamins.
Minerals
Eat chickweed to increase your iron intake. Each serving of this green contains 33 percent of the amount you need each day. You also take in 3 percent of the iron you require daily. Research published in the January 2011 issue of the journal "Nutrition Research" correlates the calcium in plant sources, such as chickweed, with decreasing the chance of developing osteoporosis. This study included post-menopausal Korean women, so more research is needed to determine if this finding carries over to all women. Chickweed also contains magnesium, potassium, selenium, manganese and zinc.
Phytochemicals
Eat chickweed to increase your intake of phytochemicals, compounds that derive from plants. These compounds include beta-carotene, rutin and genistein. The rutin in chickweed may have a role in treating or preventing some types of cancer. Evidence in the January 2011 edition of "Environmental Toxicology" suggests that rutin may stop leukemia tumor growth, although this research used animal models. Human studies are needed to confirm rutin's importance for inhibiting leukemia.
Potential Uses
Folk medicine makes use of chickweed for a variety of purposes, including as a treatment for asthma and nasal congestion. Some amateur healers also recommend eating chickweed for its laxative effects and to correct hormonal imbalances. Consult your physician before eating chickweed for medicinal purposes, however. You may also apply chickweed topically to soothe itching and skin inflammation.
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