Healthy Eating and health tips with Broccoli

Broccoli is a member of the cabbage family and the ultimate vegetable for healthy eating, and is closely related to cauliflower. Broccoli provides a range of tastes and textures, from soft and flowery (the floret) to fibrous and crunchy (the stem and stalk).

Try to choose broccoli with floret clusters that are compact and not bruised. They should be uniformly coloured, either dark green, sage or purple-green, depending upon variety, and with no yellowing. In addition, they should not have any yellow flowers blossoming through, as this is a sign of over maturity. The stalk and stems should be firm with no slimy spots appearing either there or on the florets. If leaves are attached, they should be vibrant in colour and not wilted.

Broccoli is very perishable and should be stored in open plastic bag in the refrigerator where it will keep for up to a week (Personally I find the purple sprouting lasts only a few days but the green broccoli tends to last a bit longer). Leftover cooked broccoli should be placed in tightly covered container and stored in the refrigerator where it will keep for a few days.

When preparing broccoli, both cooked and raw make excellent additions to your meal plan. Some of the health-supporting compounds in broccoli can be increased by slicing or chewing. Interestingly, leaving the broccoli on the counter for 10 minutes before you cook it actually activates some of its health promoting properties – there you go!!!

When cooking the whole stems and the florets, try to throw in the stems a few minutes before the florets. I get around this by simply slicing the stems fairly small and throwing it all in together!! While people do not generally eat the leaves, they are perfectly edible and contain concentrated amounts of nutrients.

One of the best ways to cook broccoli is to steam for around 5 minutes. Although it can be roasted and blanched, steaming is best.

With regard to health, broccoli is a great vegetable to include in your weekly shop. Like other cruciferous vegetables, broccoli contains the phytonutrients sulforaphane and the indoles, which have significant anti-cancer effects, especially in terms of hormonal cancers. Broccoli is also a good source of vitamins K, C, A, B6 and E and minerals phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium, as well as folate and fibre. Broccoli also contains the carotenoid, lutein (a potent antioxidant linked to eye health). It is also a good source of tryptophan (which is an protein that is used in the body to help you feel good).

Broccoli is also great for liver detox as it induces liver detoxification enzymes. Sulforaphane boosts the body's detoxification enzymes thus helping to clear potentially carcinogenic (cancer causing) substances more quickly.

Another interesting fact is that when broccoli is eaten with tomato, it has an even more powerful anti cancer effect. Chopping and heating make the cancer-fighting constituents of tomatoes and broccoli more bioavailable i.e. available to the body. However, over cooking broccoli will reduce its anti-cancer properties significantly so 5 minutes steaming only remember!!!

To get the most benefit from your cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, be sure to choose organically grown varieties (their phytonutrient levels are higher than conventionally grown). And the idea of ‘Good things coming in small packages’ is shown by the fact that broccoli sprouts contain 10-100 times the power of mature broccoli to boost enzymes that detoxify potential carcinogens. So, pop into your supermarket or health food store and get some 'Good for You' brocco shoots for on top of your salad or soup.

In addition, broccoli has been linked to the treatment or prevention of infection with H. pylori, a primary cause of ulcers. Broccoli sprouts also appear to be able to repair damage done to sun-exposed skin. There is also a link between the consumption of broccoli and reduction in heart disease risk.

OK, I need to stop as I could go on!!