Dr. John Day, Cardiologist

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The Top 10 Benefits of Broccoli

George H.W. Bush was quoted as saying, “I’m president of the United States and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli.”

President Obama shared, “Me and broccoli…we’ve got a thing going.”

When it comes to broccoli, I’m with President Obama. I too have a thing going with this superfood.  Broccoli is my favorite food and something I eat every day.

My Relationship with Broccoli

I generally resisted eating vegetables as a child.  In general, the only vegetables I ate were the ones my parents forced me to eat at the dinner table.

All of that changed at the age of 19 when I first fell in love with broccoli.  While living amongst the Chinese immigrant community in New York City, I tasted broccoli in a stir-fry dish at a Chinese restaurant for the first time and it was literally love at first taste.  I never knew broccoli could taste so good.  It was so crisp and packed full of flavor.

Over the years, my love of broccoli has grown and now I don’t let a day go by that I don’t eat broccoli.  My friends who are in the know, tease me and sometimes even make sure that broccoli is offered at their social gatherings, kid’s birthday parties, etc..

My Broccoli Recommendations to My Patients

When I encourage my patients to eat broccoli they often tell me that they don’t like the taste.  My guess is that the only broccoli they, or George H.W. Bush, have tried is the soggy over-cooked forms of broccoli.  Not only does soggy broccoli not taste good, but most of the nutrients have been cooked out of it.

How to Eat Broccoli

I love raw broccoli with homemade hummus.  Lightly steamed broccoli can unlock other health promoting nutrients.  Broccoli is also the perfect addition to any stir-fry dish.

As the nutrients in broccoli degrade quickly with time, we generally purchase a fresh head or two of organic broccoli every couple of  days.  We love it fresh and use it in so many of the foods we make.

The Top 10 Benefits of Broccoli

In addition to the great taste of broccoli, let me give you 10 additional benefits of broccoli.

1. Broccoli Helps Prevent Cancer

It really does not take much broccoli to help prevent cancer.  For example, eating broccoli just three times a month can decrease your risk of bladder cancer by 40%.

It is not just bladder cancer prevention either.  For example, when the glucoraphanin in broccoli is converted to sulforaphane it has been shown to help prevent breast cancer.  Broccoli may also protect against prostate cancer, colon cancer, and other cancers.

2. Broccoli Reverses Heart Disease

It has often been said in the cardiology community that you are only “as old as your arteries.”  If you want to stay young, vibrant, and mentally sharp you have to keep your arteries from developing plaque build up.

Unfortunately, over time, plaque often builds up.  Arterial wall plaque has even been shown to occur in children eating the Standard American Diet (SAD).  Fortunately, the sulforaphane that comes from broccoli has been shown to help scrub the plaque out of our arteries and prevent heart attacks.  Broccoli can also help to undo the damage of diabetes to our arteries.

3. Broccoli Lowers Cholesterol

Is your cholesterol too high?  Did you know that broccoli binds with bile acid in the gastrointestinal track to help lower cholesterol?  Personally, I would much rather take a daily dose of broccoli, in conjunction with other healthy lifestyle habits, than a statin drug for high cholesterol.

4. Broccoli Helps Combat Vitamin D Deficiency

While broccoli does not have vitamin D, it contains vitamins A and K.  In fact, one serving of broccoli provides 245% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin K.

Vitamin K is important because it helps with blood clotting.  Also, the vitamin K and A in broccoli help to keep vitamin D in balance for optimal health. An exciting new area of research is how vitamin K1 can be converted to vitamin K2 in the body.  Vitamin K2 is critical for health as it has been shown to decrease heart disease by 57%!

5. Broccoli Detoxifies Our Body

Every day we are exposed to toxins in our food, water, and air.  Eating broccoli helps our bodies to detoxify these harmful substances.  For example, the molecules in broccoli have been shown to protect against the toxicities of air pollution in the big cities of China.  Broccoli also contains the powerful antioxidant glutathione that helps us to detoxify our bodies.

6. Broccoli Helps Prevent Diabetes

Chromium is an important mineral that regulates blood sugar.  Of all the foods, broccoli is by far the food with the most chromium.  Just two cups of broccoli provides us with 106% of the chromium we need each day.

7. Broccoli Helps Prevent Arthritis

Do your joints hurt?  Broccoli may help to reduce the inflammation in your joints and elsewhere throughout your body.  Indeed, studies now show that broccoli is a great anti-inflammatory for people suffering from arthritis.

8. Broccoli Prevents Colds

When most people think of vitamin C foods they think of oranges or orange juice.  Did you know that broccoli contains far more vitamin C than oranges?  In fact, just one serving of broccoli provides you with 135% of the vitamin C you need for the day.  The next time your coworker is coughing or sniffling just remember to bring a small bag of broccoli with you to work.

9. Broccoli May Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease

Eating broccoli helps your brain to function optimally now and may even help to prevent cognitive decline with aging.  Even the National Institute of Aging now recommends broccoli to help prevent Alzheimer’s Disease.

10. Broccoli Gives Us Great Looking Skin

Broccoli has long been know to help our skin look young.  Once again, the antioxidants and the glucoraphanin to sulforaphane conversion with broccoli is felt to protect our skin against aging.  More recently, broccoli has even been shown to be effective in preventing skin cancer.

In the presidential debate on broccoli where do you stand?  Do you find yourself siding with Bush or Obama on broccoli?