Garden cress (Lepidium sativum) is an edible herb belonging to the Brassicaceae family alongside cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. Other names for this herb, which is native to Southwest Asia and Egypt, include halim, chandrasura, and holan (1).

Historically, this herb was used to treat cough, diarrhea, vitamin C deficiency, low immunity, and constipation (2).

Today it’s widely grown in the United States, India, and Europe. It’s primarily harvested for its seeds, though its oils, roots, and leaves have uses as well (1, 3, 4).

Garden cress has a peppery, tangy flavor and aroma. Plus, it’s incredibly nutritious.

Here are 10 impressive health benefits of garden cress.

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1. Packed with nutrients

Garden cress is low in calories but loaded with nutrients. One cup (50 grams), raw, contains (5):

• Calories: 16
• Carbs: 3 grams
• Protein: 1.3 grams
• Fat: 0 grams
• Fiber: 0.5 grams
• Potassium: 6% of the Daily Value (DV)
• Vitamin A: 10% of the DV
• Vitamin C: 39% of the DV
• Vitamin K: 452% of the DV

As you can see, this herb is naturally low in carbs and fat-free. It also provides a small amount of fiber.

Plus, it boasts moderate amounts of potassium and vitamin A and a significant amount of vitamin C. Like many leafy green vegetables, it’s especially rich in vitamin K — a crucial nutrient for blood clotting and bone health (6).

Summary

Garden cress is especially rich in vitamin K. It’s also low in calories and carbs, in addition to providing other vitamins and minerals.

2. May boost bone health

Garden cress is a very rich source of vitamin K, a fat-soluble vitamin involved in bone formation, breakdown, and nutrient absorption. In particular, the bone protein osteocalcin relies on this vitamin to increase bone formation and strength (7).

Insufficient vitamin K levels are associated with bone fractures in Asian and European adults (8).

In, fact, vitamin K intake is essential to protecting against conditions like osteoporosis, which may be caused by aging and nutrient deficiencies. This condition weakens your bones, increasing the risk of fractures (9).

Summary

Garden cress may help keep your bones strong since it’s incredibly rich in vitamin K.

3. May support immune health

Eating vitamin C-rich foods like garden cress may help your body ward off sickness and improve immune function.

That’s because vitamin C functions as an antioxidant to protect against oxidative stress, thereby lowering your risk of inflammation. In turn, lower levels of inflammation may safeguard you from conditions like diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease (10).

Plus, this vitamin helps prevent harmful pathogens from entering the outermost organ of your body, the skin. Without enough vitamin C, your body doesn’t produce enough collagen — a major component of your skin — and may heal more slowly from wounds (10).

Vitamin C also helps reduce your risk of infection by helping kill off microbes — harmful bacteria that have entered your body — as well as dead cells that can cause tissue damage (10).

Summary

As a good source of vitamin C, garden cress may aid immune health by reducing your risk of infection and disease.

4. May promote weight loss

With only 16 calories per 1 raw cup (50 grams), garden cress is a low calorie food that may even promote weight loss.

Research shows that weight loss is successful when you achieve a negative calorie balance either by eating fewer calories than you burn or expending more calories through physical activity (11).

Replacing high calorie foods with low calorie foods may help lower your calorie intake. Notably, you can eat a lot of these foods without adding much to your daily calorie intake (12).

Research also suggests that high protein, low carb diets aid weight loss by helping you feel full, thereby reducing your calorie intake (12, 13).

Since garden cress and many other non-starchy vegetables are naturally low in carbs, they’re suitable for these diets. Still, you should pair these foods with high protein items like chicken, lean beef, beans, and fish (12).

Summary

Garden cress may support weight loss because it’s low in calories and carbs, helping you feel full.

5. May protect against toxins

It’s possible that garden cress protects against toxic compounds like heavy metals.

Heavy metals like aluminum are present in cosmetics, medications, vaccines, and fumes, any of which you may commonly come into contact with (14, 15).

Because aluminum accumulates in your body tissues, you may eventually experience adverse reactions, such as oxidative stress and poor liver function (14, 15).

In a study in 50 rats given aluminum, this heavy metal significantly damaged liver and kidney function. Yet, the groups of rats receiving garden cress after or alongside aluminum saw their liver and kidney function restored to almost normal (14).

In a test-tube study, human liver cells preexposed to toxic hydrogen peroxide were then exposed to garden cress extract. The extract inhibited oxidative stress by 56% and prevented cell death by 48% (16).

Still, while garden cress may help protect the liver and kidneys, more rigorous human studies are needed.

Summary

Animal studies indicate that garden cress may safeguard against heavy metals like aluminum, while test-tube studies suggest a protective effect on the liver. Still, human research is lacking.

6. May promote heart health

Garden cress seeds may promote heart health due to their balanced ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids.

Garden cress seeds contain 32% alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3, and 12% linolenic acid (LA), an omega-6. Both are essential fatty acids that the body cannot make, so you must get them from food or supplements (17).

Your body also uses ALA and LA to make essential fatty acids like eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), though its ability to convert these fatty acids into EPA and DHA is low (18, 19).

The typical Western diet is higher in omega-6s than omega-3s, an imbalance that leads to chronic inflammation. In fact, diets rich in omega-6s may reduce the anti-inflammatory benefits of omega-3s (20, 21, 22).

Although the relationship between these fatty acids isn’t entirely understood, maintaining a healthy balance of omega-3s to omega-6s is crucial for reducing your risk of heart disease. This is due to the effects of this ratio on inflammation (20, 21, 22).

In animal studies, ALA has been shown to reduce heart injury and heart cell death when there’s inadequate blood flow to the heart (23, 24).

However, specific studies on garden cress are lacking.

Summary

Garden cress seeds may improve heart health by increasing your intake of the omega-3 fatty acid ALA.

7. May aid diabetes management

Garden cress may help lower blood sugar levels to help manage diabetes.

In a study in rats, those that ate garden cress had significantly reduced levels of fasting blood sugar and insulin resistance, compared with a control group. Both of these indicators suggest improved diabetes control (25).

Insulin resistance occurs when your body stops responding to the effects of the hormone insulin.

The study also reported reduced total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL (bad) cholesterol, alongside increased HDL (good) cholesterol (25).

Plus, garden cress’s vitamin K content may help manage diabetes.

In a 4-week study, 82 women with prediabetes were given 1,000 mcg of vitamin K or a placebo daily. Those in the vitamin K group experienced improved insulin sensitivity and decreased blood sugar levels (26).

All the same, keep in mind that specific studies on garden cress’s effects in people with diabetes aren’t available (27).

Summary

Garden cress may improve diabetes control by reducing fasting blood sugar levels and insulin resistance, though human research is lacking.

8. May have anticancer properties

Test-tube studies indicate that garden cress may have several anticancer benefits.

One such study exposed leukemia cancer cells to garden cress extract. The results found that as concentrations of garden cress extract increased, the number of living cancer cells decreased — and the number of healthy cells also increased (28).

Another test-tube study in liver cancer cells showed that garden cress extract significantly suppressed gene expression, thereby reducing tumor growth. The more potent the concentration of garden cress extract, the more toxic it was to liver cancer cells (29).

All the same, further research is needed.

Summary

Test-tube studies show that garden cress may have anticancer effects, though human studies are lacking.

9. Relatively high in vitamin A

One cup (50 grams) of garden cress provides 10% of the DV for vitamin A, which your body cannot make on its own. As such, you must get it from your diet.

This vitamin is necessary for aiding low light vision, which allows you to see in limited light conditions (30).

Studies also indicate that getting enough vitamin A in your diet may safeguard against some forms of cancer (31, 32).

Furthermore, this vitamin provides immune benefits by helping to multiply and differentiate helper T cells, which aid your body’s autoimmune response (30).

Summary

Garden cress is relatively high in vitamin A, which may support low light vision, cancer protection, and a healthy immune response.

10. May help breast milk production

One review suggests that garden cress provide essential vitamins and minerals for breast milk and breast tissue growth (33).

It also helps stimulate prolactin, a major hormone that stimulates milk production. Moreover, this herb helps trigger the let-down reflex, which causes breast milk to flow (33, 34).

All the same, more research is needed.

If you’re nursing, be sure to follow a balanced diet that includes protein, dairy, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables — of which garden cress can be a part (35).

Summary

Garden cress may help stimulate breast milk production, as well as provide several essential breast milk nutrients, though more studies are necessary.

The bottom line

Garden cress — both its leaves and seeds — may provide health benefits.

It’s low in calories and packs essential nutrients like vitamins A, C, and K, as well as omega-3 fatty acids.

As such, this tiny herb may aid immunity, disease prevention, weight loss, organ function, inflammation, heart health, and diabetes. It may even offer anticancer effects and aid breast milk production.

The peppery herb makes a nutritious addition to soups, salads, or sandwiches.

Just one thing

Try this today: If it’s difficult to find garden cress or its seeds in your location, try the similarly flavored, more popular leafy green called watercress.