“I want to give you a way to eat your broccoli in a way that you actually want to eat it”.
-Ella Woodward, Cookbook Writer
Broccoli, the essential ingredient to the elixir of life. Oh! How we undermine its potential from lowering blood-sugar levels to anti-cancer properties! It belongs to group of vegetables called Brassicas. It’s cousins are cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and more.
It contains a magnitude of almost all vitamins such as Vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, C and K. Minerals are calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, selenium, zinc, phosphorus, sodium, and potassium. It is a rich source of plant based calcium. Making it a suitable and a healthy alternative for vegans. Broccoli has less calories and is high in fibre making it a good companion for weight loss. Furthermore, this contributes to good bowel movements and a healthy gut.
Phytonutrients like sulforaphane display anti-cancer prospects. Sulforaphane behaves like an anti-oxidant by cancelling out free radicals. In a plant’s body, phytonutrients function to provide strength to a plant’s immune system. It confers protection against disease and the sun which plays a huge role in the plant’s sustainability. When digested by humans, it results in anti-cancer properties and prevents cardiac disease.
But not all antioxidants are phytonutrients and not all phytonutrients are antioxidants. Sulforaphane was initially thought to be an antibiotic and was isolated from red cabbage. Talalay and Zhang were the first to derive it from a broccoli and exhibit it as an anti-cancer agent.
A promising key here is that it can be used in clinical therapy as it has no side effects, cheap, and can be used in chemotherapy/radiotherapy.
Nivea Vaz
Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara
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