Health Benefits of Broccoli

For years, I have mentioned to patients that eating your broccoli is a good idea. This hearty, tasty vegetable is rich in dozens of nutrients. In fact, it packs the most nutritional punch of any vegetable!

Broccoli's noteworthy nutrients include vitamin C, vitamin A (mostly as beta-carotene), folic acid, calcium and the extra bonus of fiber.

In terms of fiber, broccoli is a fiber find! Not only is it a rich source, but half of its fiber is insoluble and half is soluble, helping to meet your needs for both types of fiber. But the story doesn't end with broccoli's rich array of nutrients. Broccoli provides a health bonus in the form of protective substances that may shield you from disease. Botanically, broccoli belongs to the cabbage family, collectively known as cruciferous vegetables.

Health organizations have singled out cruciferous vegetables as must-have foods, recommending we eat them several times a week. Why? They are linked to lower rates of cancer. Like all cruciferous vegetables, broccoli naturally contains two important phytochemicals -- indoles and isothiocyanates. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore isolated from broccoli an isothiocyanate, called sulforaphane that increases the activity of a group of enzymes in our bodies that squelch cancer-causing agents.

Broccoli and other brassica family vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, kale and cabbage are well known for their high concentration of this compund sulforaphane.

If you just so happen to dislike broccoli, kale, bok choy, cabbage or kale, then you can obtain even higher concentrated protection by taking your sulforaphane in supplement form.  Products like Indolplex by Integrative Therapeutics and Oncoplex SGS by Xymogen are excellent add-ons to your daily nutrition.  Both protect the body with antioxidant action as well as effectively regulating the body’s natural phase 2 detoxification enzymes.