Plant-Powered: What Are The Health Benefits Of Broccoli?
Going plant-based isn’t only great for the environment, it also has a positive impact on health. I first went vegetarian and later vegan for the animals, but I immediately learned about how beneficial that diet can be on the environment. The last thing I learned was how favorable it can be for health. When you fill your diet with a wide variety of delicious plants, your body appreciates it. My first years as a vegetarian were more experimental and intuitive, I didn’t know much about nutrition, as all I cared about was not eating animals. I was only 18. Little by little, I found healthier recipes, I discovered a world of fruits and vegetables and legumes that I didn’t know about, and now, as a vegan, I’m eating healthier than ever, focusing mainly on whole foods, but also sporadically eating less-healthy food–a balanced life (the classic 80% healthy/20% please help yourself to some fries).
I try to make my meals as colorful as possible and try to eat as many different types of plants as I can throughout the week. One of my favorites–one I’ve grown up to love, as it’s a plant usually antagonized by children, particularly because of the strong smell it releases when it’s cooked– is broccoli. I love adding it to my bowls, to my rice, or to make a broccoli soup.
AN INTRODUCTION TO BROCCOLI
Broccoli, botanically called Brassica oleracea italica, is a branched green vegetable from the brassica family that can be eaten raw or cooked. Even though popularly only the flowery head is eaten, both broccoli’s stems and leaves are fully edible! There’s no need to throw away or compost these parts, as you can add them to your meals. The stems are great for sautéed foods, to bake as sticks, or to make vegetable broth, while the leaves can be prepared in the same way as kale, as they belong to the same family.
Broccoli’s origins date back to the Roman Empire. It was introduced in England in the mid-18th century (where it was called ‘sprout colli-flower’ or ‘italian asparagus’) and became popular in the U.S. in the 1920s. It is a variety of wild cabbage, which was domesticated by Etruscans, thus producing different cultivars, including cauliflower, broccoli, and kale.
‘Brocco’ is the Italian word for sprout, bud, or shoot, and its etymology comes from the Latin ‘broccus’, meaning pointing, projecting, sharp.
NUTRITIONAL FACTS ABOUT BROCCOLI
In the U.S., people consume almost 6 pounds of broccoli per year. A big percentage of people not liking it might be linked to specific enzymes in the saliva that make cruciferous vegetables taste bitter.
There are great news for those broccoli lovers: it’s super good for your body!
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1 cup (approximately 76g) of broccoli has 68.4 g of water, 24.3 calories, 1.95 g of protein, 0.258g of fat, 4.78 g of carbs, 1.82 g of fiber, 1.06g of sugar, 35 mg of calcium, 0.524 mg of iron, 16 mg of magnesium, 50.9 mg of phosphorus, 230 mg of potassium, 0.145 µg of vitamin B6, 6.08 µg of Vitamin A, 0.319 mg of zinc, 0.045 mg of copper, 0.15 mg of manganese, 40.5 mg of vitamin C (a bit more than oranges), 0.059 mg of thiamin, 0.087 mg of riboflavin, 0.486 mg of niacin, 77.5 µg of Vitamin K, 49.4 µg of folate, among other nutrients.
Its carbs are mainly fibers and sugars, this last group conformed by sucrose, glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, and galactose.
THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF BROCCOLI
Let’s talk about how this vegetable that looks like a little tree can help your body (not only the environment, as part of a plant-based diet).
Cruciferous vegetable consumption is associated with a reduced risk of total and cardiovascular disease mortality. In fact, a higher consumption of vegetables in the diet in general relates to lower incidences of many chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular related ailments. There are several reasons why someone may choose to eat a plant-based diet. Personally, I became a vegan for the animals, but this doesn’t mean that my health doesn’t benefit from it. Since I incorporated more plants to my diet, and removed all animal-derived products, I’ve done a good thing for my body as well as for the animals, and it has had a positive impact on the environment. Therefore, no matter what your reason is to embrace (or move towards) a plant-based diet, by doing so you influence positively all three categories: animals, yourself, the planet.
As mentioned above, broccoli is a great source of fiber, which is good for gut health. One cup of broccoli (76g, the same amount I considered before), provides 6.5% of the Daily Value, based on a 28g per day recommended by the FDA. It also has a good amount of protein, which is good for building and repairing muscles, making enzymes, and regulating hormones.
Its high Vitamin C contents are also a notable health perk, as this vitamin is an antioxidant that can neutralize harmful free radicals, control infections and heal wounds, is vital to immune function, and is needed to make collagen. As an antioxidant, it plays an important role in maintaining skin health and can protect against UV-induced photodamage.
Broccoli also has Vitamin K1 (needed for blood clotting and for bone health), Folate (which is Vitamin B9 and is used to produce energy, and is good for healthy cell growth and function), Potassium (aids in muscle function, is beneficial for blood pressure control and heart health), Manganese (involved in amino acid, cholesterol, glucose, and carbohydrate metabolism, and is necessary for normal brain and nerve function, as well as for helping the body form connective tissue, bones, blood clotting factors), and Iron (necessary to make hemoglobin, which is needed to transport oxygen in red blood cells).
Broccoli is also rich in various antioxidants that are beneficial to health. Broccoli accumulates significant amounts of glucoraphanin, a phytonutrient which is metabolized in vivo to the biologically active sulforaphane, which is a phytochemical that displays both anticarcinogenic and anticancer activity (including also the enhancing of detoxication of aflatoxins and air-borne toxins, which may attenuate their associated health risks, like cancer), and has positive effects on eye health, lowering blood sugar (sulforaphane inhibits glucose production and improves glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes), and slowing osteoarthritis.
In addition to sulforaphane, broccoli has Indole-3-carbinol, an indole glucosinolate compound also known for its anticancer properties; kaempferol, a flavonoid that helps reduce the risk of developing several disorders such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases, as well as being antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, cardioprotective, neuroprotective, antidiabetic, anti-osteoporotic, estrogenic/antiestrogenic, anxiolytic, analgesic and antiallergic activities; carotenoids, which can protect humans against certain specific chronic ailments, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and age-related macular degeneration; lutein and Zeaxanthin, carotenoids found in broccoli, have also been associated with eye health; and quercetin, a polyphenolic flavonoid inversely related to cardiovascular disease. Broccoli also contains beta-carotene, which is converted into Vitamin A, a necessary vitamin for eye health.
The anticancer powers of broccoli have become widely known. There is also a paper published in 2019 in Science, that demonstrated that targeting the gene known as WWP1, with the ingredient found in broccoli suppressed tumor growth. They found that the I3C compound, which I mentioned in the previous paragraph and is found in Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and other cruciferous vegetables, is involved in a complex chemical chain reaction that frees the tumor suppressor to do its job. Moreover, bioactive molecules from cruciferous vegetables are known to induce Phase II enzymes, which help in the metabolism of xenobiotics to prevent potent carcinogenesis (the formation of a cancer). The same study suggests that isothiocyanates and sulforaphane inhibit the histone deacetylase activity (which affects gene expression and is associated with development of cancer) in cancer cells. There are several other anticancer benefits mentioned from these types of vegetables. They also prevent oxidative stress, metabolic disorders, asthma, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Cruciferous-rich diets have been associated with a reduction in LDL cholesterol, which is considered the ‘bad’ cholesterol, likely to be due to a combination of dietary components found within broccoli, including glucoraphanin and fiber.
A study published by The British Journal of Nutrition found that a higher intake of cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage, is associated with lower odds for extensive abdominal aortic calcification (less calcium buildup in their aortas), probably related to the high amounts of flavonols, magnesium, phylloquinone (Vitamin K), and carbohydrate compounds, like pectin. Fatty deposits in arteries attract calcium, a buildup known as calcification, which increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. This study also highlights the benefits of plant-based diets and its relation to a lower degree and slower progression of coronary artery calcification, associating a higher intake of fruits and vegetables to 26% lower odds of having it. They explain these findings by the numerous bioactive compounds found in vegetables and fruits, which may be involved in several protective mechanisms, such as the reduction of oxidative stress and inflammation, which are known to contribute to vascular calcification.
There are a myriad of benefits that come with consuming broccoli. However, I wanted to add that some people with bowel diseases may need to reduce broccoli intake during flares, for example IBD or Crohn’s disease–discuss with your doctor. This may also apply to patients taking blood thinners who need to monitor their Vitamin K intakes because it can inhibit the medication, as Vitamin K assists in blood clotting to stop wounds from continuously bleeding and allow them to heal. Ask your doctor if Vitamin K may interfere with your specific medication (it may not). Lastly, in chronic kidney disease, kidneys can’t remove phosphorous very well, so you may need to lower this mineral in your diet.
HOW TO PREPARE BROCCOLI
There are so many ways to cook this nutritious and delicious vegetable. Just like any plant, it’s very versatile and it allows us to explore our culinary skills. Commonly, only florets are consumed. However, the leaves and stems are perfectly edible, and they provide many of the benefits I’ve discussed in this post. The stem provides the most fiber; the broccoli leaves are high in carotenoids, beta-carotene, chlorophylls, antioxidants, Vitamins E and K, total phenolic content, manganese, and calcium. Florets have high concentrations of amino acids, glucoraphanin, and neoglucobrassicin. Make sure to eat the whole broccoli to get the most benefits.
The way you cook broccoli is important because it conditions nutrient retention. Loss of Vitamin C when steaming it is significantly lower than when boiling it. Most cooking methods, including microwaving, boiling, stir-frying–and with the exception of steaming–cause losses of chlorophyll and Vitamin C, and decreases of total soluble proteins and soluble sugars, as well as modification of total aliphatic and indole glucosinolates. It appears that steaming broccoli is the best cooking method to retain its nutrients. You can eat it raw, although eating cooked broccoli may also have its benefits, like a higher beta-carotene retention, as well as a higher concentration of lutein, and α- and γ-tocopherols , and improving the in vitro bile acid binding compared to its raw version. If you are going to cook your broccoli, consider decreasing cooking time, as the longer you cook it, the higher the nutrient loss.
I love adding broccoli to my bowls, sautéed veggies, rice, pasta, and quinoa. I also love a delicious broccoli and sweet potato soup or baking it with a bit of garlic. Broccoli’s versatility allows you to use it to cook tarts, pizza crusts, fritters, or to make vegan broccoli wings.
You can try several recipes with broccoli and see which one you like the most. This way you can make sure you incorporate it to your diet and enjoy the innumerable benefits this amazing plant has to offer.
If you’d like to read my future posts, please don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter!
Hi, I’m Melina,
I’m the creator of Sustainable Rookie, and my goal is to share what I learn throughout my sustainability journey, so that I can help other people live a more conscious life.
If you liked this post, you may also enjoy:
