sown & uprooted

I love broccoli! Bro-cco-li. I also like the sound of the word itself. Whenever I see the word written down, I have a small smile on my lips – oh my love, dear broccoli.

I haven’t always been very fond of it. As a kid, teenager and young adult I rejected it. It simply didn’t exist for me. A blank spot in the product aisle as far as I was concerned. Today, it is a completely different story.

My favourite forms of eating it are its sprouts on a buttered toast, steamed as a side dish, and much better yet – in its raw form thrown into a smoothie. It is a great source of vitamin C and K and can also play a vital role in the area of cancer prevention and reducing insulin sensitivity.

So before we dive any deeper into the magical powers of broccoli, let me share my simple 5-a-day-recipe with you:

Ingredients

• 1/3 broccoli head, feel free to add broccoli sprouts too for extra benefits
• 1/2 banana
• 1/3 cucumber or zucchini
• 2 hands full baby leaves of spinach
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 200-300 ml of water or green tea
• You can also add some whey for an additional protein fix

Directions

1. Make sure you have all the ingredients washed and ready
2. Cut your ingredients in chunks suitable for your mixer, or blender.
3. Place all ingredients in your mixer and blend them until they reach a smooth texture. Add more water if your like the texture to be more fluid.

The super powers of Broccoli

Strong bones: The vitamin  K contained in broccoli plays an essential role in maintaining strong bones by regulating calcium in the body. It helps improve bone density and reduces the risk of fractures. This is particularly important for women who frequently suffer from osteoporosis.

Heart health:   Vitamin K can assists in regulating calcium deposition in the body, preventing calcium from building up in the arteries, which can lead to heart disease. 

Cancer: Research indicates that vitamin K2 found in Broccoli (and other sources)  may play a role in inhibiting cancer cell growth. While more research is needed, its anti-inflammatory and regulatory properties hold promise for cancer prevention. Its ability to support your health when suffering from cancer or to prevent cancer growth is partly down to the sulforaphane, a component of the mustard oil the broccoli (and other cruciferous) contains. Studies have shown, that sulforaphane activates enzymes that eliminate carcinogenic substances, inhibit growth of tumour cells and prevent the spread of tumour cells. 

Do I need to say any more? Because of that reason alone, it should be part of everyone’s daily routine! It will not treat cancer alone, but it supports our bodies to deprive cancer cells in our body of the necessary basis for life.

Sulforaphane is also found in other vegetables such as kale, cabbage, cauliflower and garden cress.

Gut Health: Broccoli is an excellent source of dietary fibre, which is essential for maintaining a healthy digestive system.  It also feeds beneficial gut bacteria, supporting a healthy microbiome. These bacteria break down the fibre and produce short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate, which nourish the gut lining, reduce inflammation, and support overall digestive health. In turn conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis may improve. The above-mentioned sulforaphane is also vital in keeping our gut lining healthy and protected from oxidative stress. This can prevent a leery gut,  where the gut lining becomes too permeable, allowing harmful substances to enter the bloodstream.

Good for your piggy bank: Broccoli is an affordable staple at the supermarket. Its price mainly remaining stable over the year.

Each type of broccoli brings something unique to the table, whether it’s the sweeter and tender broccolini, the intricate and nutty Romanesco, or the vibrant and earthy purple sprouting broccoli. All are packed with essential nutrients and can be used in a variety of ways—roasting, steaming, grilling, or tossing in salads and stir-fries. Adding different varieties to your diet keeps things interesting while offering diverse health benefits.

But remember when preparing broccoli. Broccoli should not be boiled in water, as up to 90 per cent of its valuable nutrients are lost this way. Instead, it should be sautéed at a low temperature or cooked in a small amount of liquid.

Broccoli sprouts contain particularly high amounts of sulforaphane—about 30 to 50 times more than steamed broccoli. A small handful of raw broccoli sprouts per day can help to relieve joint pain and reduce symptoms of osteoarthritis because of their inflammatory properties.

So if you haven’t fallen in love with broccoli already, or even better broccoli sprouts (which contain a multiple of sulforaphane compared to fully grown cabbage) then I encourage you to give my smoothie above a try.

With love

Corina

References:

(1) American Institue for Cancer Research, Broccoli and Cruciferous Vegetables: Reduce Overall Cancer Risk, available from: https://www.aicr.org/cancer-prevention/food-facts/broccoli-cruciferous-vegetables/

(2) Nandini DB, Rao RS, Deepak BS, Reddy PB. Sulforaphane in broccoli: The green chemoprevention!! Role in cancer prevention and therapy. J Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 2020 May-Aug;24(2):405. doi: 10.4103/jomfp.JOMFP_126_19. Epub 2020 Sep 9. PMID: 33456268; PMCID: PMC7802872.

(3) Baenas, N.; Vega-Garcia, A.; Manjarrez-Marmolejo, J.; Moreno, D. A.; Feria-Romero, I. A. The preventive effects of broccoli bioactives against cancer: Evidence from a validated rat glioma model. Biomed. Pharmacother.  2023, 168,  115720,  DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.115720

Disclaimer: Please note – As with all things in life, some things will have ripple effects and the amounts make the difference. So please don’t overdose on herbal teas or plant-based remedies either. Especially if you are on medication, suffer a medical condition, are prone to allergic reactions and during pregnancy it’s recommended to seek medical advisory before starting any self medication.