Health Benefits of Green Peas: Green peas are bursting with nutrients. They provide good to excellent amounts of 8 vitamins, 6 minerals, dietary fiber and protein. Green peas' supercharged nutritional profile can supercharge your health.

Helping You Bone Up:

Green peas provide nutrients that are important for maintaining bone health. They are an excellent source of vitamin K1, which activates osteocalcin, the major non-collagen protein in bone. Osteocalcin anchors calcium molecules inside of the bone. Therefore, without enough vitamin K1, osteocalcin levels are inadequate and bone mineralization is impaired.

Green peas also serve as a very good source of vitamin B6 and folic acid. These two nutrients help to reduce the buildup of a metabolic byproduct called homocysteine, a dangerous molecule can obstruct collagen cross-linking, resulting in poor bone matrix and osteoporosis. One study showed that postmenopausal women who were not considered deficient in folic acid lowered their homocysteine levels simply by supplementing with folic acid by itself.

Help Your Heart by Passing the Peas:

In addition to affecting bone health, homocysteine contributes to atherosclerosis through its ability to damage the blood vessels, keeping them in a constant state of injury. Therefore the folic acid and vitamin B6 in green peas are supportive of cardiovascular health as well. In fact, folic acid is so important for cardiovascular function that a major 1995 study concluded that 400 micrograms per day of folic acid could prevent 28,000 cardiovascular deaths per year in the United States.
The contributions of green peas to heart health do not stop there. The vitamin K featured in green peas is instrumental to the body's healthy blood clotting ability.