How do you eat your Broccoli?

Broccoli is a member of the cruciferous family, known for their powerful antioxidants and anti-cancer properties due to the high Sulphoraphane content. Sulphoraphane has also shown great benefits in improving fasting blood sugar and HbA1c, reducing inflammation linked to heart diseases, and reducing high blood pressure. Other members of the family include Bok choy, Cabbage, Kale, Brussels Sprouts, Watercress, and Rocket.

Raw vegetables have the highest levels of Sulforaphane; but the trick is, this is only activated when the vegetable is cut, chopped, or chewed.

So how can you obtain the highest benefit from these vegetables?

Simply steam for 1 – 3 minutes ;-)

Cooking at temperatures above 140 degrees (boiling or microwaving) leads to a loss of the active ingredient glucosinolates that’s needed to activate the Sulphoraphane in those veggies.

If you still prefer your vegetables a little bit more cooked, try adding mustard powder or mustard seeds to increase the availability of myrosinase, another active ingredient needed to increase the availability of Sulforaphane, particularly in cooked vegetables.