What's the Healthiest Vegetable?

Without a doubt as far as I am concerned at least, broccoli is the healthiest vegetable. It has a lot of competition from its relatives in the Cruciferous family, such as cabbage, kale, brussel sprouts etc, but I think it tastes better than the other family members and it also has some unique advantages over its rivals for the title of the healthiest vegetable.

Broccoli gets its name from the Italian word, "broccolo" which means "cabbage sprout" and it is believed that broccoli was developed from the same wild ancestor as that of the cabbage. Broccoli is actually the flower of the plant and can be either green or purple. All parts of the head can be eaten including the stem, which may be peeled and then grated and eaten raw in salads, although it is better, in my opinion if it is chopped and cooked and eaten with the flower head of the broccoli.

Broccoli contains several substances which provide it with potent antioxidant properties, and these include the vitamin C content of this plant, its vitamin E and the minerals manganese and zinc, along with the carotenoids, beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin and the flavonoids, kaempferol and quercetin. Antioxidants scour the body and combat the free-radical scavengers which can cause damage to healthy cells, making them cancerous. The vitamin C in broccoli is the most concentrated of all in the most commonly consumed Cruciferous vegetables. This means that it can help boost the immune system and so stave off the common cold and flu, and can help reduce their symptoms if we have caught these winter illness. This vitamin also helps the body to absorb iron.

Broccoli also has constituents which scientists believe to have anti-inflammatory properties; these include isothiocyanates such as sulforaphane which can help close down the genetic machinery that produces some of the enzymes which act as toxins in our cells. It also contains the glucosinolates, glucoraphanin, gluconastutiian and glucobrassicin which are not found in the same combination or concentration in any other vegetable. These help to detoxify our cells making us generally healthier.

The carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin contribute to our eye health as zeaxanthin is present in the macula in our eye which is close to the central part of the retina, while lutein is present in the peripheral retina. When we have a regular intake of these carotenoids we help to prevent cataracts forming and delay the onset of age-related macular degeneration.

Scientists have been researching another of broccoli's constituents, indole-3-carbinol which promotes the growth of 'good' hormones and works against destructive ones in the body. This indole may, scientists believe, help in the battle against hormone-related cancers such as breast and prostate cancers. The sulforaphane in broccoli also helps to increase the level of cancer-blocking enzymes.

Along with the Omega-3 fatty acid found in broccoli (more usually found in oily fish such as salmon) the isothiocyanates and flavonol, kaempferol and the vitamin C can help decrease inflammation such as is associated with rheumatism, inflammation caused by allergic reactions in the digestive system and other inflammatory conditions.

If this is not enough to convince you that broccoli really should be part of your diet, then perhaps I should add that broccoli can help with diabetes, calcium deficiencies, sun damage to skin, stomach and colon cancer (due to the dietary fibre content), heart disease arthritis and even the ageing process. For all these health reasons I believe that it is the healthiest vegetable that we can eat and it has the benefit of being tasty too. Why not steam, microwave of stir-fry some today- for the optimal health benefits of broccoli?

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