Shop products for Broccoli 
Broccoli should have a fresh smell, a bright green colour, and firm, tender stalks.
Broccoli is a member of the cabbage family prized for its top crowns of tender, edible, green flower buds. Its thick, green stalks are edible too. It is native to Italy.
Varieties
Only one type of broccoli is generally found in markets, but a few close relatives of this vegetable are also available. Broccoli rabe has thinner stalks and is leafier, with smaller bunches of buds. It has a stronger, more bitter flavour, and all of the plant, including its leaves, is edible. Broccolini is a new vegetable that looks just like regular broccoli except that the stalks are delicate, with thin stems; the flower buds are also smaller.
Broccoli is available frozen and is sometimes included in frozen vegetable mixes.
Availability
Broccoli is available year-round but is a cool-weather vegetable that is best between January and March.
Preparation, uses, and tips
Broccoli can be eaten raw or cooked. Place it in a colander and rinse it thoroughly before preparing. Unless the stalks are especially tender, cut off the thick base of the stalks and peel them. Cut the head into florets. Raw broccoli can be used for crudités served with dips, or can be added to salads. When adding broccoli to cold grain salads, blanch it first by boiling for just two minutes. Then drain and rinse immediately with cold water. This brightens the colour of the broccoli and develops the flavour.
To cook broccoli, first cut into bite-sized pieces.
To boil
Boil broccoli in lightly salted water until just tender crisp, about four minutes.
To steam
Steam pieces about five minutes and whole stalks of broccoli for about ten minutes, until tender-crisp.
To sauté
Sauté in olive oil with garlic and herbs until tender-crisp, about ten minutes. Sautéed broccoli can be tossed with cooked pasta and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.
To microwave
Cook on High for five minutes; then let stand for three minutes before serving.
Flavours that go well with broccoli are basil, caraway seed, curry powder, dill, fresh lemon juice, herb-infused vinegar, marjoram, oregano, tarragon, and thyme.
Nutritional Highlights
Broccoli (raw), 1 cup (133g)
Calories: 25
Protein: 2.6g
Carbohydrate: 4.6g
Total Fat: 0.31g
Fiber: 2.6g
*Excellent source of: Vitamin C (82mg), and Vitamin A (1,357 IU)
*Good source of: Folate (62.5mcg)
*Foods that are an “excellent source” of a particular nutrient provide 20% or more of the Recommended Daily Value, based upon United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines. Foods that are a “good source” of a particular nutrient provide between 10 and 20% of the USDA Recommended Daily Value. Nutritional information and daily nutritional guidelines may vary in different countries. Please consult the appropriate organization in your country for specific nutritional values and the recommended daily guidelines.
Health benefits and concerns
Vitamin C, present in fruits and vegetables, is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. This anti-inflammatory activity may influence the development of asthma symptoms. A large preliminary study has shown that young children with asthma experience significantly less wheezing if they eat a diet high in fruits rich in vitamin C.
Many Americans eat insufficient amounts of foods containing vitamin C; the disease caused by vitamin C deficiency, scurvy, causes easy bruising. While very few people actually have scurvy, even minor deficiencies of vitamin C can increase the incidence of bruising. People who experience easy bruising may want to try eating more fruits and vegetables—common dietary sources of vitamin C.
The strong association between increased intake of beta-carotene from food and a reduced risk of lung cancer does not necessarily mean that supplementation with natural beta-carotene supplements would reduce the risk of lung cancer. Dietary beta-carotene may be a marker for diets high in certain fruits and vegetables that contain other anticancer substances that may be responsible for the protective effects. Until more is known, some doctors advise smokers to avoid all forms of beta-carotene supplementation—even natural beta-carotene.
Foods high in vitamin K such as vegetables typically are associated with low cancer risk. Despite the fact that the anti-vitamin K drug warfarin might reduce the risk of cancer under certain circumstances, no evidence suggests that avoidance of vitamin K (from food or from supplements) would in any way help protect against cancer.
Calcium D-glucarate is available as a supplement, and is also found in fruits and vegetables in a slightly altered form—D-glucaric acid. Preliminary evidence suggests that calcium D-glucarate indirectly helps the body lower its burden of oestrogen—an effect that might reduce the risk of breast cancer. Although animal research supports such a possibility, no human trials have been published to evaluate whether calcium D-glucarate has a therapeutic or preventive effect.
Cruciferous vegetables—broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbage—contain a substance called indole-3-carbinol (I3C). In preliminary research, I3C has been reported to affect the metabolism of oestrogen in a way that might protect against breast and other female cancers, an idea supported by animal and test tube research.
Diindolylmethane (DIM) is another substance found in cruciferous vegetables. Test tube and animal studies suggest that it may help protect against breast cancer. However, no clinical trials with cancer patients given DIM have yet been published.
Sulforaphane is a substance found in broccoli, particularly the sprouts, that has been reported to have anticancer activity in animal and test tube research. Broccoli sprouts come from broccoli-sprouting seeds and are harvested when they are 3 days old. No trials in which cancer patients were given sulforaphane supplements have yet been published.
Eating plenty of flavonoid- and vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables helps to support the structure of capillaries.
Some but not all studies have reported that eating more foods rich in beta-carotene or vitamin A was associated with a lower risk of cataracts. Synthetic beta-carotene supplementation has not been found to reduce the risk of cataract formation. It remains unclear whether natural beta-carotene from food or supplements would protect the eye or whether beta-carotene in food is merely a marker for other protective factors in fruits and vegetables high in beta-carotene.
A controlled trial showed that eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables containing folic acid, beta-carotene, and vitamin C effectively lowered homocysteine levels. Healthy people were assigned to either a diet containing a pound of fruits and vegetables per day, or to a diet containing 3 1/2 ounces (99g) of fruits and vegetables per day. After four weeks, those eating the higher amount of fruits and vegetables had an 11 percent lower homocysteine level compared to those eating the lower amount of fruits and vegetables.
Some foods, such as rapeseed (used to make rape seed oil) and Brassica family vegetables (cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower), contain natural substances that can interfere with thyroid hormone synthesis, resulting in goitre. Cooking has been reported to inactivate this effect in Brussels sprouts.
People who eat plenty of fruits and vegetables high in beta-carotene appear to be at lower risk for macular degeneration than people who do not eat these foods. However, another study found no association between age-related macular degeneration and intake of antioxidants, either from the diet, from supplements, or from both combined. More research is needed to reconcile these differences. In the meantime, beta-carotene-rich vegetables continue to be part of a healthful diet.
Multiple sclerosis (MS)
In one survey, researchers gathered information from nearly 400 people (half with MS) over three years. They found that consumption of vegetable protein, fruit juice, and foods rich in vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin, calcium, and potassium correlated with a decreased MS risk.
Pregnant women should consume 1,500mg of calcium per day. Food sources of calcium include milk products, dark green leafy vegetables, tofu, sardines (canned with edible bones), salmon (canned with edible bones), peas, and beans.
Diets high in fruit and/or vegetables are associated with a reduced risk of stroke, according to most studies. In a large preliminary study, cruciferous and green leafy vegetables, conferred the highest degree of protection. Because it is not clear which components of fruits and vegetables are most responsible for the protective effect against stroke, people wishing to reduce their risk of stroke should rely primarily on eating more fruits and vegetables themselves rather than taking supplements.
Health benefits and
concerns for vegetables
Many health benefits and concerns associated with this food are applicable to other
vegetables. Read about health benefits and concerns
for vegetables for a full description.
