Broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable and a member of the Brassica family.
They’re a lovely-looking microgreen with gorgeous green leaves and slightly pinkish stems and are one of the easier microgreens to grow, not needing to be pre-soaked, taking one to two days to germinate and can be ready to harvest and eat in just over a week.
It has a mild, crunchy, slightly bitter flavour (more on this later) but is high in Vitamin A, C and K, protein, and calcium, amongst other things.
But the most potent compound in Broccoli microgreens is Sulforaphane which studies suggest helps to fight cancerous cells by reducing their development.
Please stick with us; here comes the sciencey bit…
Our bodies cleverly convert the sulforaphane compound from Glucoraphanin, which is a glucosinolate found in vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, rocket, kale or radishes, which give it its bitter taste.
Glucosinolates break down into metabolites that we absorb slowly through our digestive system and have several nutritional values that prevent heart disease and obesity.
When our bodies convert this compound into Sulforaphane, it also protects our cells against inflammation linked to certain cancers; and a wide variety of diseases.
These include asthma, eye health, kidney inflammation, diabetes and oxidative stress – an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in your body.
Other health benefits of eating broccoli microgreens are:
- Vitamin A: Helps maintain healthy vision and skin
- Vitamin C: Helps the body form collagen for healthy gums, teeth, nails, and bones
- Vitamin K: Supports blood clotting
SOURCES
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0140963
https://aacrjournals.org/cebp/article/18/1/184/282474/Cruciferous-Vegetable-Consumption-and-Lung-Cancer
https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/sulforaphane-benefits–how-leafy-veggies-like-broccoli-and-bruss.h13-1593780.html#:~:text=Some%20studies%20have%20shown%20that,other%20parts%20of%20your%20body.
https://synapse.koreamed.org/articles/1148409
