Make sure that you add Broccoli to your grocery list, and start serving it up lightly cooked several times a week to give your body the nutrition it needs to help fight off diseases.
Health coach Healthy and Happy Judy released a new video on the health benefits of adding Broccoli which originated in Italy, to a diet. Many know broccoli is high in vitamin C and vitamin K and that it is a good source of folate and manganese. Though many people eat broccoli raw, it is one of the vegetables for which light cooking helps make some of the benefits more easily available. Once Broccoli becomes soft, it has been overcooked and it has lost some of it's nutritional value. Light steaming of 5 to 10 minutes at most seems to work best. Crisp Broccoli still retains its nutrients.
The World's Healthiest Foods website points out that some of the phytonutrients in broccoli supply all steps in the body's detox process at the genetic level and that "...ample supplies of vitamin K and vitamin A help keep our vitamin D metabolism in balance. Broccoli has an unusually strong combination of both vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene) and vitamin K."
A cup of Broccoli provides 245% of the daily need of vitamin K and 135% of the daily need of vitamin C
Scientists have learned that chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and inadequate detoxification increase the risk of cancer. Broccoli has anti-inflammatory benefits which reduce inflammation or swelling. A natural flavonoid Kaempferol, of which Broccoli is a rich source, acts as an antioxidant that is absorbed in the small intestine. WHFoods writes that kaempferol can "lessen the impact of allergy-related substances on our body. This kaempferol connection helps to explain the unique anti-inflammatory benefits of Broccoli, and should also open the door to future research on the benefits of Broccoli for a hypo-allergenic diet."
Broccoli is a concentrated source of vitamin C which is a premiere anti-oxidant which inhibits the oxidation of molecules in the body. Thus the nutrition in broccoli works to lower oxidative stress in the body. Elements in broccoli enhance detoxification the medicinal removal of toxic substances from the body. These 3 benefits of broccoli, 1. Anti-inflammatory, 2. Anti-oxidant, and 3. Detoxification, make broccoli a unique food in terms of cancer prevention.
