Broccoli Facts

Broccoli facts include cancer prevention; it is rich in folate and many other essential phytochemicals.

This page was last updated by Bernard Preston on 28th November, 2018.

By Bernard Preston

Briefly, a few ordinary facts, since I expect you already know many things about broccoli. It belongs to the cabbage family, and is called a brassica. The cauliflower is a first cousin, but because it is rich in dark cancer preventing pigments, and in my opinion tastes better, it's my first choice from this family.

It's other major virtue is that it can be grown in cold and moderate climates, and it continues to bear for months. Having reaped the main head, don't pull the plant; it will continue to produce florets that can be plucked.

Reap them before they flower. Just two or three plants will keep the average family in broccoli soup for months.

Notice the florets still being produced on this plant; the young leaves and flowers are delicious too.

I really don't know why we humans blithely assume that cancer is a disease that only other people get. Cancer is common, and the end is usually miserable. It behooves each and every one of us to take whatever steps we can to avoid it, or suffer the consequences.

Broccoli is the richest known source of a compound called Glucoraphanin that is converted in the body into a powerful anti-cancer compound called Sulforaphane.

Prostate cancers

In the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2007, volume 99, researchers evaluated 1338 men with prostate cancer, and found a strong inverse correlation between the aggressive prostate cancers and the cabbage family foods, particularly broccoli.

More Brassicas means less cancer is probably the most important of the broccoli facts.

Other research states that men low in Selenium, which is a powerful antioxidant, are 5 times more likely to get prostate cancer.

It comes as no surprise that broccoli is particularly rich in Selenium (1.6mg /100g); it's a big part of the prevention. Let your food be your medicine; don't get it as a supplement because then you miss out on the glucoraphanin;

Skin cancer

New research confirms that white mice exposed to UV-light, a known skin carcinogen, were 25% less likely to get skin cancer if they were fed a broccoli extract.

Stomach cancer

A bug called Helicobacter pylori, has been shown to dramatically increase the risk of stomach cancer; broccoli facts are part of the solution.

Research done at Johns Hopkins University found that Glucophanin had a potent double action in preventing stomach cancer.

Firstly, sulforaphane in certain varieties of broccoli and Brussels sprouts, and in the nutrition of arugula, is a potent bacteriostatic agent against Helicobacter pylori, irrespective of its resistance to conventional antibiotics.

In other words, even if the bug has grown resistant to antibiotics, the sulforaphane in broccoli will still nuke them; it's also found in other dark green leafy vegetables like rocket, also known as arugula.

Secondly, they found that it was sulforaphane induced detoxification and antioxidant enzymes that blocked gastric tumor formation.
The drug industry is of course busily making extracts that they can sell to you at great profit. Perhaps eat more delicious broccoli? Cheaper, nicer, and almost certainly more beneficial. It's not unreasonable, though it remains unproven, that the protective properties shown above apply to all cancers, by stopping the unbridled proliferation of cells that characterises malignant tumours.

One of the great benefits of a low carbohydrate diet is that it clearly reduces reduces acid reflux. So too the enjoyment of the probiotic kefir on a regular basis. More about kefir benefits... on a personal note, this soured milk product completely alleviated my fifteen year epigastric pain associated with a small hiatus hernia and a heliobacter infection. 

Another of broccoli's wonder compounds is a bioflavonoid called kaempferol; quite a mouthful. It's so powerful that the drug industry is now looking at making medicines out of it.

Kaempferol and cancer prevention is getting researchers very excited.

Lutein macular degeneration

Lutein macular degeneration, and two other diseases affected by the phytochemical, have caused the blindness of five million Americans; and much of it is entirely preventable if only they knew that kale and broccoli facts were rich in two substance, a deficiency of which would make them blind.

Lutein and zeaxanthin are two phytochemicals found in very high concentration in the retina; they absorbe the high frequency, read dangerous, radiation entering the eye.

If you do not get adequate amounts in your diet, there is a great chance you will get age-related macular degeneration; read, you will go blind. They also give protection against cataracts.

Kale, spinach, broccoli, lettuce and corn have large amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin; make sure you get the required 5-10 mg per day; if you enjoy your greens at least once or twice a day you should be fine. But one leaf of iceberg lettuce will not do the trick; lutein benefit.

• Zeaxanthin macular degeneration

Broccoli Nutrition Facts

Broccoli nutrition facts help us discover the scientific basis of this delicious vegetable.

Conclusions

This may be well just be a boring, insignificant list of numbers to you, but what is interesting from these broccoli facts is that raw broccoli

• rates very low on the carbohydrate count chart and has a VERY low Glycemic Index ... 
• very high in anti-oxidants like zinc and selenium, has more vitamin C than orange juice and, should you have a problem with easy bruising, broccoli is resonably high in vitamin K. Parsley is the Vitamin K queen! Not just a garnish.
  
• Broccoli is high in vitamin B6 and Folate, two of the B vitamins that have been linked to lower levels of heart attack and stroke, and a particularly nasty condition called Spina Bifida.

Comparing these figures with those for cooked broccoli show that some of these nutrients are leached away in the water used to cook your broccoli. Save this water, for a gravy, or soup. For a comparison of these vitamins and minerals in other salads look at the Parsley benefits page. PARSLEY BENEFITS ... what are they?

Win-win @ Broccoli Facts

We meat lovers often have too much of an amino acid called Homocysteine in the blood, and vegetarians often have too little of another amino acid called Methionine.

The significance? Homocysteine has been strongly linked to heart disease and stroke. A Methionine deficiency is very serious because it's an "essential" amino acid. You can't build a healthy body without it. The disease is called Kwashiorkor.

"Plasma homocysteine levels are strongly influenced by diet, as well as by genetic factors. The dietary components with the greatest effects are folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12. Folic acid and other B vitamins help break down homocysteine in the body. Several studies have found that higher blood levels of B vitamins are related, at least partly, to lower concentrations of the toxic amino acid homocysteine. Other recent evidence shows that low blood levels of folic acid are linked with a higher risk of fatal coronary heart disease and stroke."

The American Heart Association.

Conversion of HOMOCYSTEINE to METHIONINE, GLUTATHIONE AND SAMe.

Win-win? The B vitamins Folate, B6 and B12 are vital for the conversion of Homocysteine to Methionine in the body. Eat more rabbit food! You can read all about it at The H factor; incidentally choline is equally important. 

Glutathione is the body's best anti-aging and anti-oxidant chemical. SAMe is one of the main anti-inflammatory and anti-depressant chemicals in the body.

So, even if you eat too much meat, and we probably all do, provided you also eat plenty of broccoli facts, the nasty homocysteine will be converted to anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-aging and anti-depressent substances in your body. In effect, you can have your cake, and eat it.

• High folate levels ...
  
• THE H FACTOR ...
• Choline food sources
  

How to steam broccoli; it's a cinch.

Nothing could be easier than how to steam broccoli. Even a hacker like me can do it. There are only three significant facts.

Use the stalk too, slicing it thinly and cooking it first for five minutes before adding the broccoli florets.

Steam it for less than ten minutes, or you'll lose some of the cancer-prevention properties.

Use an absolute minimum of water, steam on high heat, and save the water for a soup or gravy.

Broccoli soup recipes

Ingredients: How to cook broccoli. A piece of cake!

1. 1 broccoli head, including the stalk. Or 3-4 cups of florets.
2. 1 onion.
3. 2-3 potatoes. Perhaps a carrot.
4. 3-5 cloves of garlic.
5. A few slithers of hot chili, some like it hot!
6. Chicken bones stock. CHICKEN BONES bouillon, easy to make at home.

PREPARATION

The only difficult part of the preparation of your broccoli soup recipes is getting the chicken bones bouillon; then you have double benefit, even better than broccoli facts alone.

• Start about an hour ahead of time with your chicken bones bouillon.
• In a separate pot, lightly saute the chopped onion in a TBSP of butter.
• Meanwhile, thinly slice the broccoli stalk, and add to the onion.
• Peel, crudely dice (since you are going to liquidise it) and add to the onion and broccoli-stalk mix that is sauteing.
• Add any other veg that you choose, and the slithers of chilli, salt and pepper to taste.
• Strain the chicken bones bouillon directly into your pot of onion, broccoli stalks and potatoes.
• Boil for about 15 mins.
• When the potatoes are nearly done, added the chopped broccoli, and bring rapidly to the boil for NO MORE THAN TEN MINUTES.
• Liquidise.

NOTES from broccoli facts on Cooking Broccoli

• Cooking broccoli for more than ten minutes has been shown to reduce the Glucoraphanin content.
• If you are on a low-carb diet, as recommended in our free weight loss programs, simply add less potato.
• Interesting research shows that, even though you are eating exactly the same food, the same number of calories, if you liquidise your food you will put on less weight.
• The young broccoli florets that you can pick continously for months after the head has been reaped are even richer in Glucoraphanin that the broccoli head.
• The stalk is perfectly edible.
• If you're eating this kind of food on a daily basis, your cholesterol will be "dangerously low"! Add a dollop of cream! Now you've got Broccoli Cream soup. And perhaps some chives.
• Broccoli soup is just the easiest and quickest for the busy cook who wants Slow Food Made Fast.
  FREE WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAMS ...

How to steam broccoli

Add half a cup of water to a double cooker and bring to a rapid boil. I like to use the induction stove; it's quicker and cheaper than gas or conventional electric heating. How to steam broccoli is a breeze.

Slice the stalks thinly and drop them into the boiling water.

Place the upper pan into place, and add bite size pieces of your broccoli head, as you would like to serve it. Place the lid on top and turn up the heat again until it's steaming merrily. Turn down the heat.

We like them crisp, so no more than a couple minutes of steaming. The stalk slices will be cooked at the same time; in young plants they are equally delicious and nutritious and full of fibre to keep you colon happy.

Fat in broccoli

The fat in broccoli is negligible, and salmon of course (along with the olive and the avocado) has the very healthy essential fatty acids that healthy nerves demand. So together they make a great dish. We had it last night! So easy to make, so delic...

WAYS TO COOK SALMON ... Broccoli and Salmon soup recipe.

Or just add a good dollop of butter if you are banting and concerned about the carbohydrate. Personally I'm very concerned that banters exclude the healthy, low GI carbs. It will help you get off the weight, but it's not healthy, nor is it necessary.

• Modified Banting diet
  

WHY BROCCOLI FACTS @ Bernard-Preston.com?

Having two patients right now who are ailing seriously, one with double breast cancer (why, oh why did her doctor prescribe hormones in menopause when the risks are so high...?) and another with prostate cancer helps focus the mind that adjusting spines is not the only important part of a chiropractor's life.

Tomatoes and Omega-3 are also potent prostate cancer preventers by the way. And research in Holland, which has the highest breast cancer in the world, one in eight women, suggests that a high animal protein diet is the cause... eat more Tofu nutrition and Hummus, more fish and less red meat, and of course more of these broccoli facts. 

• TOMATO PROSTATE ... 
• TOFU NUTRITION ... 
• HUMMUS - Chickpea Garbanzo bean dip ... 
• FISH SOUP ...
  

Chiropractor Pietermaritzburg

Chiropractor Pietermaritzburg, South Africa is where I practised for many years; recently we have moved to the local village, Hilton, high on the escarpment above the steamy heat of the city.

Chiropractor Bernard Preston (actually Barrie Lewis' alter ego!) has gone into semi-retirement to the Midlands of South Africa where he was born. However, his retirement sentiments are not to sit on his thumb! STONES IN MY CLOG, his third book has just been released as an ebook for only $2.99 and it's proving a roaring success. A FAMILY AFFAIR, his fourth is awaiting completion. And then there's his garden which returned to jungle status whilst he was in the Netherlands. It must be rescued for growing chickpeas and of course and growing broccoli is very high on the agenda!

UPDATE: Now that the garden is semi-tamed, it's time for going solar, keeping bees and collecting rainwater from the roof...

• CHIROPRACTOR PIETERMARITZBURG ...

Our 25,000 litre reservoir contains enough water for two months supply. Two inches of rain (50mm) fills the reservoir. It's just lovely being able to wash your hair in soft water and know that your drinking water contains no chlorine, fluorine or asbestos fibres from decaying pipes.

Ebooks are taking the world by storm. Amazon is selling more ebooks now than paper books. Save our forests, go digital! Plus they're much cheaper. My paper books cost about $15 but you can download my first ebook, Stones in my Clog for only $2.99. A Chiropractor in Holland.

Ebooks come in different forms. For some you need an Ereader like a Kindle but mine you can read on your computer if you have Microsoft Word. Soon they'll be in pdf, then anyone can read them.

• A woman in acute pain who arrives on the arm of a man I presume is her husband but, no, Jan Two is her parish priest. And lover...
• Dick is one of the world's best gliding instructors. He's been Dutch champion many times, flown at least ten times at the World Gliding championship... could a pupil fly so badly to make him airsick? You bet!
• How Bernie got fired "op staande voet". Instant dismal. "Now... GO!"

Ebooks for download ... definitely the future.

How to grow broccoli

Broccoli is an easy-to-grow vegetable. In particularly it keeps bearing for months, and the florets are perfect for making dark green leafy soups. Plant out the seedlings, water and weed and eat your supper in about 6-8 weeks, and for the next two months, and longer. How to grow broccoli is for the larger garden.

• HOW TO GROW BROCCOLI

Retirement sentiments

What do YOU plan to do when you reach sixty-five? Think about broccoli facts or put your feet up? Retire and expire! Retirement sentiments are for those who want to enjoy and long and full life.

Bernard Preston

Bernard Preston is a semi-retired chiropractor with an intense interest in preserving both our own health, and the planet. Broccoli facts, queen of the table, is high on the agenda.

Having got on top of the broccoli facts, his wife Helen plants the seeds and raises the seedlings, and then it's his responsibility to prepare the ground with compost, plant and water them.

At 70 both of them are in excellent health and take no medication.

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Address:

56 Groenekloof Rd,

Hilton, KZN

South Africa

Website:

https://www.bernard-preston.com/