Selection :Fresh broccoli heads are available year around. In the market, choose fresh, bright, compact, firm textured flower heads with rich flavour. Avoid those with over mature florets featuring yellow flower buds, excessive branches and hollow stem. Whenever possible, go for organic farm products to get maximum health benefits.
Cleaning :Once at home, rinse flower heads by dipping it upside down in salt water for up to 30 minutes and then clean in running cold water before use in cooking in order to remove any pesticide residues and dirt. Broccoli greens should also be treated in the same way as you do in washing any other greens like spinach.
Storage :Eat broccoli while they are fresh. Otherwise, it can be placed inside the refrigerator wrapped in a zip pouch where it may keep well for few days.
How to Grow Your Own Broccoli Sprouts :Actually growing them in soil is far easier and produces more nutritious and abundant food. It is also less time consuming, as with Ball jars you need to rinse them several times a day to prevent mould growth. Trays also take up less space than jars. You can consume one whole tray of sprouts every 2-3 days, and to produce that much food with Ball jars
Usage :This vegetable is used in different ways of Cooking and even in more areas as a different substitute.
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Nutrition Facts :Nutrition plays a vital role in one's life and has become an essential entity in human life and of course those who follow regular diet for a healthy body and healthy mind.
Table listed below displays Broccoli vegetable nutrition values such as Nutrients, Vitamins , Electrolytes, Minerals and Phyto-nutrients in individual proportions.
Arthritis :Recent tests on cells, tissues and mice show that a sulphur-rich broccoli compound, sulphoraphane, blocks a key destructive enzyme that damages cartilage. It's thought that increasing broccoli in your diet may help to slow down and even prevent osteoarthritis.
Detoxification :Glucoraphanin, gluconasturtiin and glucobrassicin are special phytonutrients that support all steps in the body's detox process, including activation, neutralization and elimination of unwanted contaminants. These three are in the perfect combination in broccoli. Broccoli also contains isothiocyanates (which you read about in inflammation) which help control the detox process at a genetic level.
Anti-Ageing and Immune System Health :sulphoraphane also seems to stimulate a variety of antioxidant defend pathways in your body that can directly reduce oxidative stress and slow down the decline in your immune system that happens with age.7 In theory, this means that eating vegetables that contain sulphoraphane, such as broccoli, could quite literally slow down the hands of time.
Blood Pressure and Kidney Health :Sulphoraphane in broccoli may also significantly improve your blood pressure and kidney function, according to yet another study in which hypertensive rats with impaired kidney function were given sulphoraphane. The natural compound improved the rats' kidney function and lowered their blood pressure by normalizing DNA methylation patterns within their cells
Powerful antioxidant :Of all the cruciferous vegetables, broccoli stands out as the most concentrated source of vitamin-C, plus the flavonoids necessary for vitamin-C to recycle effectively. Also concentrated in broccoli are the carotenoids lutein, zeaxanthin and beta-carotene, other powerful antioxidants.
Heart health :The anti-inflammatory properties of sulphoraphane, one of the isothiocyanates (ITCs) in broccoli, may be able to prevent (or even reverse) some of the damage to blood vessel linings that can be caused by inflammation due to chronic blood sugar problems.
Alkalises Your Body :Like many vegetables, broccoli helps keep your whole body less acidic, which has a host of health benefits
Cancer :sulphoraphane in broccoli has also been shown to kill cancer stem cells, thereby striking to the root of tumor growth, and the broccoli compound glucoraphanin -- a precursor to sulphoraphane – boosts cell enzymes that protect against molecular damage from cancer-causing chemicals.
Reduces Allergy Reaction and Inflammation :Broccoli is a particularly rich source of kaempferol and isothiocyanates, both anti-inflammatory phyto-nutrients. Research has shown the ability of kaempferol to lessen the impact of allergy-related substances on our body. Broccoli even has significant amounts of omega 3 fatty acids, which are well know as an anti-inflammatory.
Cholesterol reduction :Like many whole foods, broccoli is packed with soluble fiber that draws cholesterol out of your body.
Diet aid : Broccoli is a good carb and is high in fibber, which aids in digestion, prevents constipation, maintains low blood sugar, and curbs overeating.
Reducing allergic reaction and inflammation : Research has shown the ability of kaempferol to lessen the impact of allergy-related substances on our body. Broccoli even has significant amounts of omega 3 fatty acids, which are well know as an anti-inflammatory.
Heart Health, Especially for Diabetics :sulphoraphane encourages production of enzymes that protect the blood vessels, and reduces the number of molecules that cause cell damage -- known as Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) -- by up to 73 percent.8 People with diabetes are up to five times more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes -- both of which are linked to damaged blood vessels. Eating broccoli may help to reverse some of this damage.
Bone health:Broccoli contains high levels of both calcium and vitamin K, both of which are important for bone health and prevention of osteoporosis.
Skin Care : A cup of cruciferous Broccoli, everday,keeps your skin healthy and supple, and protects your skin cell membranes and guards against UV radiation damage.
Skin effects :When applied to the skin, broccoli can cause an allergic rash in hypersensitive people.
Special Precautions & Warnings :Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Broccoli is safe for pregnant and breast-feeding women in food amounts. But larger medicinal amounts should be avoided until more is known.
About the Vegetable :Broccoli is an edible green plant in the cabbage family, whose large flowering head is used as a vegetable. The word broccoli comes from the Italian plural of broccolo, which means "the flowering crest of a cabbage".Broccoli is a cabbage family vegetable grown for its nutritious flower heads. Its green or purple florets have been known for several noteworthy, unique phyto-nutrients that are found to have disease prevention and health promoting properties.Broccoli is a result of careful breeding of cultivated leafy cole crops in the Northern Mediterranean.Many Varieties are available.Broccoli is a cool-season crop and demands fertile rich and well-drained soil to flourish. Technically, broccoli is categorized into two main types according to their appearance; heading and sprouting. Heading variety forms a large, solid head, whereas sprouting types forms many smaller heads or florets.Several different hybrid-mix of broccoli have developed with other cruciferous family members such as broccoflower (hybrid of broccoli and cauliflower), broccolini (broccoli and chinese-kale), etc.
Scientific / Binomial name : Brassica oleracea var. italica.
Usage :
Young, tender, broccoli heads may be eaten raw or as salad.
Its flower heads are much sought-after in stir-fries; either alone or with other vegetables, beans and poultry, in mouth-watering recipes mixed with sauce, oil,onions, pepper, and garlic.
