What do you mean by broccoli?
Broccoli is a green vegetable that comes under the Brassicaceae family. Broccoli’s flower and stalk are used and eaten as a vegetable. The heart and tasty green vegetable is loaded with Vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. It is known for its multiple health benefits and uses. It is recommended that the vegetable should be steaming as boiling reduces its contents such as glucosinolate, isothiocyanate, and sulforaphane compounds. This tasty vegetable is the powerhouse of nutrients and good for digestion, the cardiovascular system, the immune system, and have anti-inflammatory and cancer-preventing properties. China and India are the leading countries for the production of broccoli in the world.
9 incredible health benefits of broccoli
- Detoxification: A study published in the journal of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, wherein it has been shown that broccoli contains phytochemicals such as glucoraphanin, gluconasturtiin, and glucobrassicin, which all helps to flush out chemicals from the body and helpful in detoxification.
- Improves eye vision: Broccoli contains biochemical compounds called lutein and zeaxanthin, which are good to protect against macular degeneration, blurs central vision, and cataracts.
- Builds strong bones: This green vegetable contains Vitamin K, which is good for blood clotting, increasing bone density, and also effective in case of osteoporosis.
- Weight Loss: The crunchy and tasty herb is full of fiber, low in calories, and giving you the feeling of a full stomach. That’s why, it is considered an excellent food for weight loss, besides improving digestion and relieving constipation.
- Boosts immunity: Broccoli contains plenty of Vitamin C, which is good to improve the immunity and immune system of the body. It also helps you to fight off infections both viral and bacterial. Therefore, it is suggested to take it by everyone when the entire world is engulfed by a coronavirus and quite effective for COVID-19 patients. Vitamin C is also helpful to detoxify the body and also fights with free radicals thus good in case of age-related macular degeneration too.
- Improves skin health: It contains Vitamin C, which helps to produce collagen. This proteinous compound is good for the health of the skin. Vitamin C also plays an important role in the prevention of skin damage, wrinkles, skin cancer, shingles, and aging.
- Anti-inflammation: Broccoli has anti-inflammatory effects because of the presence of antioxidants sulforaphane. It helps significantly lower levels of inflammation. It also has adequate amounts of omega 3 fatty acids, which are well known as anti-inflammatory. The presence of kaempferol to lessen the impact of allergy-related problems in our body.
- Potential antioxidant: It is loaded with various types of antioxidants. The important antioxidants are Vitamin C, flavonoids, carotenoids lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene.
- Autism improvement: It has found the broccoli is having a compound called sulforaphane, which helps to improve the symptoms of autism. It has found improvements in verbal communication and social interactions.
Nutritional facts of broccoli
According to USDA, one cup of broccoli (76g) contains the following nutrients. It has Energy (24.3 cal), Carbohydrate (4.78g), Fibre (1.82g), Calcium (35mg), Phosphorous (50.9mg), Potassium (230 mg), Vitamin C (40.5 mg), Folate (49.4 mcg), Vitamin A (6.08mcg), Beta-carotene (70.7 mcg), Lutein and zeaxanthin (566 mcg), Vitamin E (0.11 mg) and Vitamin K (77.5 mcg). It also contains zinc, copper, selenium, and an array of antioxidants.
Broccoli health risks and side effects
Some of the less serious side effects of broccoli are:
- Since, it contains a high amount of fiber, it may cause gas.
- Those who are taking blood-thinning medications should be careful while taking broccoli as it is packed with Vitamin K, which interferes with medications.
- It is better to avoid it if somebody has hypothyroidism.
Important facts about broccoli
- The tasty and fibrous vegetable originated in Italy.
- In Italian, broccoli is called broccoli means the flowering top of a cabbage.
- The main producer of broccoli is India and China.
- California produces about 90% of it in the United States.
- The average American takes about 4lbs. of broccoli in a year.
- The United States of America is the third-largest producer of broccoli.
7 medicinal benefits of broccoli
- Cancer prevention: There are many studies that have been conducted wherein it had been shown that broccoli protects against cancer like breast, prostate, gastric, renal, and bladder.
- Control blood sugar: Studies have shown that eating broccoli may lower blood sugar thereby helpful in controlling blood sugar.
- Improves digestion: The vegetable is packed with fiber, which is good for healthy digestion, reduces inflammation in the bowel region, and supports gut bacterial functions.
- Brain function: It is good for healthy brain function and prevents the slowing down of cognitive functions because of the presence of bioactive compounds, which show positive effects on the brain.
- Slowing the aging process: The phytochemical called sulforaphane is helpful in slowing the aging process by reducing the impact of oxidative stress and reduced metabolic functions.
- Healthy pregnancy: The vegetable contains numerous vitamins, minerals, protein folate, etc. Folate is good for the fetal brain and cognitive development of the baby.
- Protects cardiac function: It has fiber, potassium, and full of antioxidants, which all reduce the risk of atherosclerosis, heart attack, and stroke.
Dietary eating tips of broccoli
- Broccoli shouldn’t be cooked well instead of eating it through steaming so that to keep maintain its maximum nutrients.
- Try to get them tight and firm one from the market, which is dark green.
- Wash broccoli just before making. It is better to keep in the refrigerator.
- The risk of contamination is comparatively low in the vegetable.
- It’s a perfect side dish, used for breakfast, lunch, and dinner along with beef, chicken, pork, and tofu.
