Broccoli - A True Superfood Vegetable With Great Health Benefits

Broccoli belongs to the cabbage family (the Brassicaceae, sometimes called the cruciferous vegetable family) and is thought to have many enticing health benefits, including reducing the risk of cancer development, promoting eye health, improving the functioning of the immune system, reducing inflammation and oxidative damage, and improving the condition of arteries damaged by diabetes.

Broccoli’s health benefits are even more attractive now that scientists have bred a new form of the vegetable that’s being called “super broccoli” because it contains a much higher level of glucoraphanin than regular broccoli. Glucoraphanin is converted into sulforaphane when we chew or chop broccoli. Sulforaphane is the chemical that is thought to be responsible for many of broccoli’s health benefits.

Broccoli of any kind is rich in nutrients. Raw broccoli is an excellent source of vitamins C and K. In fact, one cup of fresh broccoli contains more than 100% of our daily requirement for these nutrients. Broccoli is a good source of vitamin A in the form of beta carotene, which our bodies change into the type of vitamin A that we need, and also provides folate and other vitamins. In addition, it’s a good source of manganese and contains useful amounts of other minerals, including potassium, magnesium, calcium and iron. Broccoli provides us with dietary fiber and some protein, and is low in fat, sugars, calories and sodium. Like all plants, it doesn’t contain cholesterol.

Our bodies convert the beta carotene in broccoli into vitamin A, which is necessary to make the visual pigments. These pigments are located in light-sensitive cells in the retina, which is found at the back of the eyeball. The retina sends a signal to the brain when its light-sensitive cells and their pigment are stimulated. The brain then creates the image that we see.

Two additional nutrients in broccoli are lutein and zeaxanthin, yellow pigments in the carotenoid family which also collect in the retina. These pigments are not involved in vision but absorb high-energy blue and ultraviolet light and stop it from damaging the retina. Zeazanthin may help prevent age-related macula degeneration (AMD). The macula is a spot on the retina which provides the most detailed vision, and is the site where zeaxanthin collects.

Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables have sulfur-containing chemicals called glucosinolates in their cells. When the vegetables are chewed or chopped, an enzyme named myrosinase is released from the plant cells. This enzyme converts the glucosinolates into isothiocyanates, which have been shown to fight cancer in laboratory cell cultures and in animals.

It’s hard to prove that cruciferous vegetables like broccoli help prevent cancer in humans, but there's a lot of circumstantial evidence that they are effective. In surveys of large numbers of people, those who reported eating a diet rich in broccoli and its relatives had a significantly lower incidence of cancer.

It's important to remember that a healthy, balanced and varied diet as well as a healthy lifestyle are the best ways to prevent diseases. Eating cruciferous vegetables regularly is a great idea, but no food should be eaten in excess. In addition, eating cruciferous vegetables won't be very helpful if the rest of the diet is unhealthy or if a person smokes, drinks an excessive amount of alcohol or doesn't exercise.

Some of the protective substances present in broccoli can be bought as supplements. Researchers are finding that whole foods are often more beneficial than supplements, for several reasons. Sometimes supplements lack other necessary "helper" nutrients that are found in the whole food. In addition, many chemicals have been identified in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, and it's not always clear which chemical is actually producing a particular effect in the body. Also, some substances in food may be helpful in small doses but harmful in the large doses found in certain supplements.

Glucoraphanin is a glucosinolate in broccoli. When broccoli is chewed or cut, the glucoraphanin is changed into an isothiocyanate called sulforaphane. In laboratory experiments with cell cultures sulforaphane prevents the division of cancer cells and triggers their death. Chemicals often have different effects inside a living body than they do on isolated cells, but sulforaphane has been found to slow the growth of tumors in mice. Sulforaphane may turn on tumor suppressor genes and may also make some carcinogens (chemicals that cause cancer) harmless.

Scientists are very interested in sulforaphane and are investigating it in relation to other diseases in addition to cancer. Sulforaphane seems to be an anti- inflammatory substance and also seems to enhance the activity of anti-oxidants in the body. Some research shows that it is helpful in treating blood vessel damage caused by diabetes. There is growing evidence that broccoli helps the immune system function better as well. A group of researchers at John Hopkins University School of Medicine found that in mice and a small group of humans eating broccoli sprouts (very young broccoli plants) significantly reduced - but didn't eliminate - a stomach infection caused by a bacterium named Helicobacter pylori. This is the bacterium that causes stomach and duodenal ulcers.

The new “super broccoli” contains two to three times more glucoraphanin than regular broccoli. It was created over many years by selectively breeding broccoli plants that naturally had an increased glucoraphanin level. No genetic engineering was involved. The super broccoli was created by British scientists and is being sold to the public in the U.K. at the moment.

Broccoli is healthiest when it’s raw or lightly steamed. Broccoli should be slightly crunchy when it's removed from a steamer. Broccoli is also healthy when stir-fried or microwaved for a short time, but boiling has been shown to reduce its nutrient content dramatically. Water soluble vitamins such as Vitamin C and folate enter the boiling water, and in addition boiling and prolonged cooking destroy the myrosinase enzyme that is needed to produce sulforaphane.

Many researchers are exploring the effects of broccoli and sulforaphane on the human body. The evidence obtained so far indicates that broccoli is an excellent food to eat regularly as part of a balanced diet. It definitely seems to be a "superfood"!