Health Matters – Guide to Good Health – B is for Broccoli
B is for Broccoli packed with good health. I love broccoli it is one of my favourite vegetables and interestingly it takes more calories to digest broccoli than it contains so an excellent choice if you are trying to reduce your weight.
A good source of Vitamin C, one portion provides us with half the recommended daily intake of this powerful antioxidant vitamin. Vitamin C is water soluble which makes it an efficient free radical scavenger. Research suggests that Vitamin C is the first line of defence against many different types of free radicals including those that attack the cells of the brain and spinal cord.
Broccoli is also an excellent source of beta carotene which the body converts into vitamin A. Vitamin A is important for the health of the eyes and also the skin. It helps improve immunity and is needed for the maintenance and repair of epithelial tissue e.g. the skin and mucous membranes and has many other important protective functions in the body. Broccoli also contains some folate, iron and potassium.
- Choose darker florets which have the highest amounts of vitamin C and beta-carotene.
- The flower heads are richer in beta-carotene than the stalks.
- Freshness is indicated by crisp, easily snapped stalks.
- Young children can be encouraged to eat Broccoli by describing it as small trees.
- Boiling Broccoli will halve its vitamin C content so steam lightly or stir fry.
Give your family Broccoli regularly to help protect them from disease.
Live with joy and health.
Elizabeth Beetham BSc Nutrition