Supergreen
The remarkable benefits of broccoli
Broccoli has a reputation as a superfood. It is one of the cruciferous vegetable family that includes cabbage, kale, cauliflower, bok choy, kohlrabi, radish, watercress, and brussels sprouts.
In this post, I will share with you the remarkable benefits of broccoli, and a simple dish to maximise those benefits.
Where broccoli gets its power
The key is a sulfur-rich compound called sulforaphane. If you’ve ever eaten raw broccoli, you’ve eaten sulforaphane. You can only get it from cruciferous vegetables.
This chemical is well studied. It is one of the most powerful anti-cancer substances found in plants. It is also antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and may even protect against ageing and diabetes. It packs a huge nutritional punch. Quite simply, sulforaphane fights against, and repairs, the damage that occurs in every cell in your body.
What’s the catalyst?
When you pick up a piece of broccoli, there is no sulforaphane in it. It’s only when you chop, blend or chew it that the reaction begins. By tearing the broccoli you break down the cell walls. This causes a reaction between compounds, enzymes and vitamin C in the broccoli. The end result is sulforaphane, which is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream.
If that wasn’t reason enough to eat broccoli, it also provides vitamin K, potassium, folate, beta-carotene, B vitamins, iron, magnesium and zinc amongst its list of nutrients. A cup of broccoli has 81mg of vitamin C, even more than an orange, as well as being a high-fibre vegetable.
How can we get the most out of this superfood and other greens?
Juicing broccoli, or eating it raw, is best. This ensures that all nutrients are intact, undamaged and bio-available. See my recipe for a Daily Green Juice.
To get the maximum benefit when cooking broccoli, it’s important to make sure you chop, blend or crush it first. The more cells you break open the better.
Cooking methods can impact the nutrient content and health benefits of broccoli. Boiling can leach up to 90% of valuable nutrients. Steaming lightly, or roasting, is the best cooking method to optimise the production of sulforaphane.
A tip to increase sulforaphane is to sprinkle some shredded (raw) broccoli onto cooked broccoli. Raw broccoli has higher amounts of sulforaphane compared to cooked broccoli.
Additions: Whenever you cook broccoli, add a sprinkle of mustard seed powder. This is because the mustard plant is also a cruciferous vegetable and has the enzyme necessary to make sulforaphane. When the mustard seeds are added to frozen or cooked vegetables, they can re-activate the plant’s ability to make sulforaphane.
Quick and tasty roast broccoli
I roast broccoli almost daily with a variety of extras. I roast some broccoli florets, red onions, a little oil, garlic, and a dusting of turmeric and black pepper for 15-20 minutes in a hot oven. I add in turmeric wherever possible as it is very beneficial to health (anti-inflammatory). Roasting broccoli gives it a slightly nutty, sweet taste.
