10 Healthy Benefits of Broccoli: From Anti-Cancer to Fetal Health

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Broccoli is one of the green vegetables from the cabbage family. Broccoli comes from Italy and is known since the sixth century. Until now, broccoli is well-known as the healthiest food source because it contains various kinds of nutrients including the sources that can only be obtained from plants, namely phytonutrients which have many health benefits for the body.

What nutrients are contained in broccoli?

Broccoli is rich in various nutrients, especially vitamins and minerals. Every 156 grams of broccoli or every one glass of broccoli can meet a variety of nutritional needs, including:

Vitamin - Fulfill the adequacy of vitamin C and K as a whole (100%), folate needs around 42%, vitamins B5, A, B2, B6, E and choline around 13-19%, and vitamins B1 and B3 around 5-8% of the needs daily.
Mineral - The need for chromium is around 53%, phosphorus and manganese are around 15%, potassium and copper are around 11-13%, and magnesium, zinc, iron, calcium and selenium are around 5-8% of daily needs.
Macro-nutrients - meet fiber needs of about 21%, protein as much as 7% and omega-3 as much as 8% of daily needs.

Broccoli also has other nutrients in varying amounts and needs such as sulfur, beta-carotene, anti-oxidants, and various phyto-nutrients.

The benefits of broccoli for the health of the human body

Anti-cancer food source - Consumption of 1-2 glasses of broccoli per day can improve various body damage caused by cancer. Various contents of broccoli which can act as anti-cancer substances are various phyto-nutrients, vitamins C, A, and E as well as minerals such as potassium and selenium. This nutrient content can act as an antioxidant and help oxygen metabolism and prevent inflammation at the cellular level which is the initial phase of cancer development.

Body detoxification - high levels of vitamin C and sulfur in broccoli help reduce toxins in the blood which cause itching, rash, gout, arthritis, and rheumatism.

Improve skin health - the content of vitamin C, vitamin B complex and vitamin E helps in replacing damaged skin tissue, while vitamins A and K and folate function as skin lightens. Broccoli also has various phyto-nutrients that prevent skin damage due to sun exposure.

Maintaining the health of the digestive tract - fiber content in broccoli helps prevent and treat constipation, besides magnesium and various vitamins in broccoli reduce stomach acidity so that it can improve the function of absorption of nutrients and prevent inflammation of the digestive tract.

Maintain eye health - the content of beta-carotene, vitamins A, B, C and E and phosphorus prevents damage to eye cells and the occurrence of cataracts and helps in repairing radiation damage due to radiation.

Body endurance - the content of vitamin C and various minerals and phyto-nutrients from broccoli helps build body immunity and prevent various infections.

Bone health - calcium content and minerals in broccoli are more easily absorbed by the body and are very beneficial for the growth of bones of children and individuals who are prone to osteoporosis.

Pregnancy -Broccoli contains various nutrients needed to meet the nutritional needs of pregnant women, especially folic acid which prevents disability in newborns.

Vascular health - the mineral content of broccoli helps facilitate the flow of blood so that it can prevent high blood pressure, besides that various nutrients in broccoli also help work insulin to balance blood sugar levels. A variety of B vitamins also help reduce the risk of atherosclerosis by preventing excess homocysteine production in blood vessels.

Prevent anemia - Regular consumption of broccoli helps to meet the needs of iron and omega-3 in preventing anemia. In addition the copper content helps function iron in producing red blood cells.

But, be careful of the side effects of broccoli

In general, broccoli has a content that is safe for consumption for most, but can cause interference with someone certain conditions. Excessive consumption of broccoli can cause several side effects such as allergies that occur in individuals with sensitive thyroid glands. Some treatments to thin the blood in stroke patients can also react with the consumption of broccoli so that treatment can be less effective.

How to maintain the nutritional content of broccoli

The method of presentation will affect the nutritional intake of broccoli, especially if someone wants to get the effect to treat cancer, the content of broccoli must be kept as good as possible. Here are some things that must be considered to maintain the nutritional content of broccoli:

Clean and dip the top of broccoli in brine for 30 minutes and wash again using cold water to ensure broccoli is free from pesticides.
Eating broccoli with nutrients is best in a raw state or served in the form of a salad dish.
Avoid cooking broccoli too for too long. The deadline for boiling takes around 20 minutes, using a microwave oven for about 3 minutes, while cooking broccoli by sauteing for about 5 minutes.
Cooking broccoli by boiling and using an oven at high temperatures will cause damage to the nutrition content of broccoli.
Eat broccoli while fresh, storing it in the refrigerator will keep the broccoli fresh.

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