PLANT POWER: Broccoli – the cruciferous vegetable no one should push off their plate
May 10, 2019 • 1 min read
This little green tree of nutritional goodness is perhaps best known for making children screw up their noses and feign illness at dinner time. But parents should persevere and hold off dessert until every single green floret has gone down the hatch.
Broccoli’s cruciferous superstar ranking is among the top 20 foods on the ANDI score (Aggregate Nutrient Density Index), which measures vitamin, mineral, and phytonutrient content in relation to caloric content.
The bitter taste of sweet health benefits
Broccoli and its cruciferous vegetable cousins are credited with lowering the risk of cancer, particularly lung and colon cancer, thanks to sulphur-containing compound sulforaphane, which gives cruciferous vegetables their bitter taste.
Sulforaphane can inhibit the enzyme histone deacetylase (HDAC), which is known to promote the progression of cancer cells. Sulforaphane is now being studied for its ability to delay or slow cancer, with promising results shown in melanoma, oesophageal, prostate, and pancreatic cancers.
Nutritional breakdown
According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, just one cup of broccoli provides over 100 percent of your daily requirements for vitamin C and vitamin K, and is also a good source of vitamin A, folate, and potassium. One cup = 31 calories, 0 grams of fat, 6 grams of carbohydrate (including 2 grams of fibre) and 3 grams of protein.