Do you remember the time when your mom served you broccoli, you either left it in the dining table unattended or ate showing weird faces! Well, you may not have liked the taste or the tight head of the fleshy green stem of the vegetable appeared distasteful! Whatever the reason is, we say that you shouldn’t ignore your mom’s recipe. Eating broccoli is really a good idea! Read on to explore the health benefits of broccoli.

Broccoli is a versatile disease fighter and is abundant in numerous well-known phytochemicals and antiocidants including indoles, isothiocyanates, quercetin, glutathione, Vitamin C, folate, lutein, glutathione, beta carotene and glucarate. Broccoli is extremely strong in anticancer activity, particularly against lung, colon, and breast cancers. Broccoli is rich in cholesterol-reducing fiber and has antiviral and antiulcer activity. It is a super source of chromium that helps regulate insulin and bloodsugar. Broccoli is also a good source of calcium, thus help fight osteoporosis. Beta-carotene and vitamin C present in broccoli have been linked to a reduced risk of numerous conditions, including cataracts, heart disease, and several cancers. Hence, it packs the most nutritional punch of any vegetable.

Broccoli is also rich in Vitamin A, nutrition responsible for giving good vision and preventing certain eye-related ailments such as cataracts or macular degeneration. This nutrient is also essential in bone growth and development as well as fostering the body’s immune system.

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.

According to the nutrition experts, one cup of chopped and cooked broccoli provides calories and 4.6 g protein, 8.7 g carbohydrates, 6.4 g fiber, 178 g calcium, 1.8 mg iron, 220 RE vitamin A, 0.13 mg thiamin, 0.32 mg riboflavin, 1.18 mg niacin, 98 mg vitamin C.

So next time when your mom serves you broccoli, just thank her to serve and start eating to get the nutritional punch!

This entry was posted on Monday, May 26th, 2008 at 12:24 pm and is filed under Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.