Health Benefits Of Broccoli

Vegetables have an impressive way of offering widespread benefits to your health, and broccoli is no exception. When you eat broccoli, you're getting dozens, maybe even hundreds, of super-nutrients that support optimal, body-wide health.These little mini trees are notorious for being pushed off the plates of kids around the world, but broccoli's reputation as one of the healthiest veggies still rings true.Broccoli has an impressive nutritional profile. It is "high in fiber, very high in vitamin C and has potassium, B6 and vitamin A," raved Victoria Jarzabkowski, a nutritionist with the Fitness Institute of Texas at the University of Texas at Austin. "For a nonstarchy vegetable, it has a good amount of protein."



                             HEALTH BENEFITS OF BROCCOLI

CANCER PREVENTION:
Eating a high amount of cruciferous vegetables has been associated with a lower risk of cancer; namely lung and colon cancer. Studies have suggested that sulforaphane, the sulfur-containing compound that gives cruciferous vegetables their bitter bite, is also what gives them their cancer-fighting power.Researchers have found that sulforaphane can inhibit the enzyme histone deacetylase (HDAC), known to be involved in the progression of cancer cells. The ability to stop HDAC enzymes could make sulforaphane-containing foods a potentially powerful part of cancer treatment in the future. Sulforaphane is now being studied for its ability to delay or impede cancer with promising results shown in melanoma, esophageal, prostate and pancreatic cancers.

LOOKS YOUNGER:
Sulforaphane also seems to stimulate a variety of antioxidant defense pathways in your body that can directly reduce oxidative stress and slow down the decline in your immune system that happens with age.7 In theory, this means that eating vegetables that contain sulforaphane, such as broccoli, could quite literally slow down the hands of time.

HEALTHY HEART:
Broccoli can aid in heart health by helping to keep blood vessels strong. The sulforaphane in broccoli is also an anti-inflammatory and may be able to prevent or reverse damage to blood vessel linings caused by chronic blood sugar problems. And the vegetable's B-complex vitamins can help regulate or reduce excessive homocysteine, according to the Harvard University School of Public Health. Excess homocysteine, an amino acid that builds up after a person eats red meat, increases the risk of coronary artery disease.

BONE HEALTH:
Broccoli contains high levels of both calcium and vitamin K, both of which are important for bone health and prevention of osteoporosis.

ANTI-OXIDANT:
Of all the cruciferous vegetables, broccoli stands out as the most concentrated source of vitamin C, plus the flavonoids necessary for vitamin C to recycle effectively. Also concentrated in broccoli are the carotenoids lutein, zeaxanthin and beta-carotene, other powerful antioxidants.