Broccoli is a deep green-colored vegetables that closely related to cabbage and also cauliflower and belongs to the family of Italica Cultivar. You can recognize so quickly in the market or department store since this vegetable looks like a mini-tree.So, you bet that this vegetable will bring you a lot of benefits for your health since this vegetable is commonly known as one of the super foods. Here are the health benefits of broccoli.
- Prevent Cancer
This is probably the main benefits of broccoli that you could get. Broccoli is widely known around the world as a perfect source to prevent you from many cancers. Many studies suggest that the broccoli could be beneficial for preventing cancers because of the compounds called isothiocyanates.
This isothiocyanates have been shown to affect the liver enzymes, reduce oxidative stress, stimulate the immune system, and the most important thing is, it can inhibit the development of cancers.
Also, broccoli contains glucoraphanin, which will processed by the body into an anti-cancer compound called sulforaphane, which is beneficial to get rid of bacteria that can increase the risk of cancers called H. pylori. In addition to that, broccoli also will provide you a compound called indole-3-carbinol, which is an anti-carcinogen that will prevent you from various types of cancer.
- Reduce the Possibility of Cholesterol
Well, there are several reasons on why broccoli can be a very deadly weapon to protect you from cholesterol. So, the first one is, broccoli is the key factor of the bile formation.
The bile acids will be a very beneficial substances to help our body to digest some fat from the food that we just ate, which then will reduce the accumulated fat in our body that can lead into cholesterol.
The second one, according to a nutritionist from the Fitness Institute of Texas at the University of Texas at Austin, broccoli could help to lower the levels of LDL cholesterol in our body because it contains water soluble fiber, which will bind with the cholesterol in our blood. This binding means that our body will be easier to excrete the cholesterol and as the result, we will be less likely to have cholesterol.
- Detoxification
Broccoli will also be beneficial as detoxification, which will release the toxic inside your body. So, many studies indicate that broccoli contain three beneficial phytochemicals that will act as detoxification called glucoraphanin, gluconasturtiin, and glucobrassicin. Together, these three will take all steps of detoxification in our body from the neutralization and elimination process of contaminants.
In fact, from the recent study that already published by the Journal Cancer Prevention, the scientists already proved that broccoli will be very beneficial for detoxification. So, the scientists in China selected the participants that live in the rural area of China with substantial air pollution.
Then, they assessed the amount of their pollutant from the participants’ urine. After that, the scientists suggest the participants to consume beverage made from broccoli sprout. The result is, the people who drink broccoli sprout can excrete the substantial pollutant higher than the people who don’t drink that broccoli sprout beverage.
- Good for Diet
Broccoli benefits for diet menu will be the best for your successful program. When you want to lose some weight, the first thing that you must do is consuming the foods that contain low amounts of calorie. The broccoli is one of the foods that you really need to consider since it contains high dietary fiber which will keep your digestive system works properly and also your stomach will feel full longer and slows down the digestion because broccoli is also one of the type of healthy carbohydrate.
In addition to that, according to Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, broccoli also contains sulforaphane which may will exert a fat-burning effect by stimulating the breakdown of fat cells.
In that study, it was revealed when the fat cells were incubated with sulforaphane all day long, this sulforaphane caused the changes in enzymes that subsequently promoted the fat cell decomposition and thus, it will prevent your body from accumulated fat that can cause you to suffer from obesity.
- Healthier Digestion System
Well, this benefit of broccoli is really obvious since broccoli is one of the rich-fibers foods. So, broccoli has the fiber content that forms both soluble and insoluble, which is very good to maintain your digestive health without broken down the nutrients that contained in the body.
Also, the fibers that contained in broccoli will be beneficial too to maintain the amount of healthy bacteria in your intestines. In addition to that, broccoli will help to keep the health of your digestive system by keeping the health of your stomach lining.
The sulforaphane compound in the broccoli will be beneficial to inhibit the growth of H. pylori. In fact, a study conducted by John Hopkins on mice has already proven that the broccoli is very effective to kill H. pylori bacteria in their stool up to 40 percent.
- Anti-Inflammatory
Broccoli turns out to be a very good vegetables to fight against the inflammation that occurs to you. In fact, broccoli has a rich source of kaempferol and isothiocyanates, which are the anti-inflammatory phytonutrients. So, the research already proved that the kaempferol is pretty helpful to inhibit the impact of allergy-related substances in our body, especially in the intestine tract, while isothiocyanates will help to regulate the inflammation.
Also, broccoli is also a great anti-inflammatory from the disease associated with osteoarthritis. the study conducted by the University of East Anglia evidence that the broccoli will help to reduce the symptoms of osteoarthritis because this chemical will block the enzymes that cause the joint destructions.
- Prevent Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Do you know a disease called Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)? Yes, this is a disease that caused the famous Stephen Hawking become paralyzed since this disease is really deadly. So, this is a neurological disease that progressively caused the nerve cells to waste away and die.
Since the broccoli has the deep green color, it means that the broccoli contains a lot amounts of carotenoids antioxidants. Based on the research,this carotenoid antioxidant played the important role to prevent you from having the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
The scientists found out that in overall, the people who took the high level of carotenoids in their diet will be less likely to suffer from this ALS disease compared with people who had diets low in this nutrient.
- Boost Your Immunity
Health benefits of broccoli for immunity is one of the best vegetables. Broccoli contains chemical compounds that will boost your immune system as you’re getting older from time to time. So, broccoli would be very beneficial to improve your immune system because this vegetable contains sulforaphane which will prevent you from the damaging effects of free radicals.
This free radicals would be very harmful since it will cause the oxidative damage, which without a doubt is the main cause of the early ageing.
The interesting fact is, according the researchers in their experiment in mice, treating the older mice with suforaphane will significantly increase their immune response as well as the younger mice. Some researchers are believed that the same result will be occuring if this suforaphane is conducted in human.
- Antioxidant Properties
In all of its families, broccoli is the vegetable that contains the richest source of Vitamin C. As you already know , the high amounts of Vitamin C means that the broccoli could release various antioxidants and flavonoids which will be beneficial for the Vitamin C to recycle effectively.
In addition to that, the broccoli as already mentioned above also contain high amounts of carotenoids, lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene, which all of the is powerful antioxidants which all have their own part to keep the health of your body.
- Strengthen Your Bones
Well, you might be surprised that broccoli could also strengthen your bone and maintain the density on your bone during the elderly periods. The benefit of broccoli for our bone is due to its high content of calcium, which it is contains 47 mg per 100 grams.
Broccoli also contains various nutrients that can be beneficial for the density of the bone like magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc. So, broccoli is very beneficial for the children, old people, and pregnant women since they are very prone to suffer from osteoroporis.
Also, like any other green-colored vegetables, broccoli contains high amounts of Vitamin K. This Vitamin K is very crucial to carboxylated the protein. Meanwhile, the osteocalin must be in the forms of carboxylate so that the osteocaline can transferred into bone. Researchers found out that osteocalin is beneficial to strengthen your bones, and also prevent bone cracks and fracture.
- Great For Pregnant Women
Well, if you’re getting pregnant and you still confuse what types of foods that you need to eat, just put broccoli in your must-eat list since broccoli will give you the benefits that you need for the health of you and your baby.
Broccoli contains various nutrients that very essential for pregnant women, such as vitamins, calcium, iron, proteins, and folic acids too. Folic acid from broccoli without a doubt would lead to the healthier infants since it will highly beneficial to protect you and your baby from having neural tube defects and having low-weight during the birth.
Also, the broccoli is a rich-source of both soluble and insoluble fibers, which will helps to retain the water and ensure the healthy bowel movements during pregnancy. The rich-source of iron is also will be very beneficial to make sure that you have enough amount of blood, since pregnant women are very susceptible from having an anemia during the pregnancy.
- Prevent Anemia
This benefit of broccoli is closely related to the previous benefit. Yes, the broccoli contains high amount of iron and folic acids which will be very beneficial to protect you from the anemia, especially if you’re women who have a constant period of menstruation which without a doubt will make you become susceptible of having a blood deficiency. Also, the broccoli contains a copper, which is truly beneficial to improve the production of red blood cells, alongside with the iron
- Prevent High Blood Pressure
Broccoli turns out to be one of the vegetables that can deal with the hypertension or high blood pressure. Various important mineral and chromium will be highly beneficial to regulate your blood pressure by functioning the insulin level in your body. Broccoli is also will maintain our blood pressure with its various vitamins, that will combine with the fatty acid and fiber.
Also, based on the study, broccoli contains glutamic acids and protein which is truly beneficial to reduce your blood pressure. In fact, based on a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the scientist made an experiments to 4,680 people age 40 up to 59 years old. The conclusion of their research is that the people in between 40 to 59 years old who had high-levels of protein in their body, the more their blood pressure fell.
- Good for Eye Health
 Well, there are several reasons on why the broccoli could give the maximum benefits for your eyes. So, every person always says that the carrot is the best vegetables that you should consume to maintain the health of your eyes. But, the question is do you know why carrots are really good for the health of your eyes? The answer is because the component called lutein in the carrots. Meanwhile, broccoli is also a perfect source for you to get the addition of lutein so that there is no doubt that broccoli will maintain the health of your eyes.
In addition to that, broccoli also contains the antioxidant called zeaxanthin which turns out to be a great source to keep the health of your eyes and prevent you from many diseases associated with your eyes such as cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, which is the main cause of the vision loss that happens to people.
- Skin Care
Broccoli is also would be beneficial to make your skin become glow and young. So, broccoli contains high amount of Vitamin C and beta-carotene. The high amount of Vitamin C in broccoli without a doubt will be very beneficial to fight against free radicals and as the result, your skin will be free from many aging signs like fine lines, wrinkles, and heavy pigmentation.
Broccoli is also contains high amounts of Vitamin K, which bring the shines into your skin and reviving the skin tissue. Furthermore, broccoli is also has glucoraphanin, one of the phytonutrients that can give your skin a full advantage against the sun exposure.
- Fights Aging
As your age getting older and older, you need to make sure that your body will always do their own function properly as long as possible so that you will be healthy at your elderly period. So, the deep green-colored vegetables like broccoli will help you to maintain the healthiness of your body and maintain its function when you’re getting old.
Also, broccoli contains a compound called sulforaphane that can fight the destructive oxygen molecules that can cause the problems for the mitochondria that is the powerhouse of the cells.
Preventing the damage of mitochondria means that the aging process of your body will slow down. In fact, researchers already said that a diet rich of broccoli will effectively return of our metabolism and reduce the possibility of any chronic disease associated with aging.
- Contain Phytochemicals
This is one of the many reasons why broccoli will be a very good addition for the health of your body. The phytochemicals indeed aren’t the main nutrition that is very crucial for your body, but the addition of phytochemicals that contained from broccoli is shown to be very effective bonuses for your body to fight against harmful disease that might attack you.
In fact, many studies have already proven the true benefits of phytochemical content to fight against various diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and neurological diseases.
Furthermore, broccoli is also contains many active phytochemicals, such as glucobrassican, which then will break down into indole-3-carbinol and in the further, this will altered into diindolylmethane or DIM. DIM is widely known for its ability as anti-cancers, which will prevent you from colon, prostate, lung, and any other cancers.
- Rich In Nutrients
Well, you can’t argue this benefit from broccoli because broccoli contains a lot of nutrients which will be very beneficial for your body. So, the big line is, here are the nutrients that you could get from eating broccoli:
- Carbohydrates. This nutrient will give the energy to your body and will make your stomach feel satisfied most of the time.
- Fibers. Broccoli contains fibers which are linked to promote the gut health, prevent various diseases, and played a vital role to maintain your weight.
- Protein. Broccoli contains high amounts of protein, which are the building block in the body and very essential to the growth and maintenance of the body.
- Vitamin C. This vitamin will be an important to release the antioxidant which will fight against free radicals.
- Vitamin K. Broccoli also contain high amount of Vitamin K, which will responsible for maintaining the health of the bone and prevent blood clots.
- Folate. This vitamin will be beneficial for pregnant women, because folate will protect you from the neural tube defects.
- Potassium. This is an essential mineral that contained in broccoli, which will prevent the cardiovascular disease and regulate blood pressure.
- Iron. This is an essential mineral too that contained in broccoli. Iron will be beneficial to carry the oxygen-rich blood to all the parts of the body and prevent anemia.
- Sulforaphane. Broccoli contains high amounts of this compound, which will protect you from various types of cancer.
- Carotenoids. Broccoli contains lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene which will be beneficial for eye’s health.
- Kaempferol. This antioxidant that contained in broccoli will be beneficial to protect you from cancer and inflammation.
Consumption Tips for Broccoli
Consuming broccoli without a doubt will bring you a lot of benefits that already mentioned above. But, to take the full advantage of it, firstly you need to make sure that you process it properly since overcooked it will bring you nothing of it. So, this is the broccoli consumption tips.
- Firstly, when you’re in the store, make sure that you pick the broccoli which have a deep green color since the greener the broccoli is, the more beta-carotene it has.
- Before you start to process it and consume it, you need to make sure to wash it properly and peel away the outer layer of the stems because these are woody and you wouldn’t eat it anyway.
- You need to make sure that you’ve not overcooked it since whenever you’re overcooked it, you will lose all of its nutrients that will be beneficial as an anti-cancer property.
- Steaming is the best way to cook it, but please take a notice that you shouldn’t overcooked if you don’t want to lose of all its nutrients. The recommended time to steam the broccoli is about up to 20 minutes.
- Steaming more than 20 minutes, microwaving more than 3 minutes, and stir frying more than 5 minutes will make the broccoli lose its anti-cancer properties Boiling is a big no, since this way if cooking will speed up the loss of its nutrients.
- Eat it raw will be beneficial to get the full advantage of the broccoli’s nutrients.
Warnings and Precautions of Broccoli
Since the broccoli is one of the best providers of fibers and other great nutrients, there is no side effects about this vegetable that you should worry about. But, you need to check the warnings and precautions related to this healthy vegetable.
- Eating raw broccoli is very good to get the full advantage of its nutrients, but you need to consider that this might give your bowels some discomforts such as gas and bloating.
- According to the Ohio State University, people who are taking blood-thinning medications are recommended to avoid broccoli since the Vitamin K that contained in broccoli will interfere the medications effectiveness.
Well, now you already know everything about broccoli. As the deep green-colored vegetable,broccoli contains a lot of nutrients that would be beneficial for your health. But, you need to consider the time to cook it when you’re about to consuming it. So, consume broccoli wisely, take the full of advantage of it,and stay healthy with it.