The Detoxifying Ingredient That Will Elevate Your Avocado Toast

Packed with nutrients, avocado toast is the breakfast of champions for many millennials. The meal comes loaded with healthy fats, grains, and potassium that can power you through your day (you should even be eating it while pregnant!). But, an ingredient that adds even more goodness to your toast – or any other meal – comes from one of the most polarizing flavors.

A powerful herb that detoxifies as it supports your system, cilantro will give your avocado toast the boost you never knew you needed. Simply make your toast as usual – on whole grain bread, with sliced or mashed avocado – then add sliced tomatoes to taste and chop up a few leaves of cilantro to top your spread. 

While it may be small, the herb does as much for your taste buds as it does for your health. Perhaps one of the chief benefits of adding cilantro to your diet comes from its ability to rid the body of trace metals like lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic (via Dr. Axe). Properties in cilantro help these particles bind together so that they can more easily release from your tissues and leave your system. Since anything from water and air pollution to the quality of the food you eat can deposit these metals, and they can cause health problems as they accumulate, using cilantro more frequently can be an important addition to your diet, as noted by Dr. Axe.

Also known as coriander, the green herb comes stacked with antioxidants that help combat free radicals throughout the body and reduce inflammation, as explained by Healthline. One study even found that using cilantro seeds slowed the growth of various cancer cells (via Healthline). 

Beyond its cancer-fighting abilities, cilantro's high level of antioxidants also protects the body from the damage of oxidative stress, as noted by Dr. Axe. The little green leaves can aid in the reduction of anxiety symptoms as well; packed with natural sedative components, cilantro may be the missing ingredient that can help you calm down (via Dr. Axe). Along with preserving your brain health, cilantro's antimicrobial compounds work to stave off infections ranging from food-borne illness to urinary tract infections (via Healthline). Furthermore, cilantro regulates endocrine function to even aid in reducing menstrual cramps.

The perfect tangy additive to the already-delicious breakfast staple, cilantro will have your body and mind feeling refreshed in one meal!