Broccoli

Broccoli is actually deemed a superfood due to its high nutrient content!

It has higher vitamin C than citrus fruits! But it must be eaten raw to get this vitamin C benefit! The vitamin C from a whole food is more active than from a supplement. 70mg of vitamin C consumed from 1 cup of raw broccoli can help strengthen the immune system more effectively than 700mg of synthetic vitamin C! Only around 10% of synthetic vitamin c is absorbed. Broccoli contains other nutrients like beta-carotene (lots of it – precursor to vitamin A), chlorophyll, enzymes and other cofactors that help this absorption and utilisation of vitamin C.

It’s beneficial to eat for heart health (can help reduce cholesterol and regulate blood pressure), liver detoxification, can be useful for eye inflammation and near-sightedness as it’s abundant in beta-carotene and B6 and good levels of the other B vitamins. Can be of benefit for rough skin conditions.

It’s also a good source of sulphur, potassium and iron. It also has good levels of vitamin K and calcium which can help with bone health.

It’s rich in glucoraphanin which the body processes into sulforaphane. This can help eliminate the bacteria Heliobacer pylori. It’s also rich in indole-3-carbinol which is a powerful antioxidant and can be useful in regulating hormones.

If you cook it lightly it will retain it’s chlorophyll content, which will counteract gas forming that can be common with high sulphur foods. And make sure you eat the stems and leaves!! Don’t leave anything to waste!

Did you know eating broccoli and other sulphur vegetables can help aid in the digestion of animal protein and fat!?

Do you eat this superfood regularly? We have it for just about every dinner as it is my youngest son’s favourite vegetable!