by baldy

Created on: August 27, 2008   Last Updated: September 17, 2008

THE MIRACLE FOOD AT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD SUPERMARKET

What would you do if I told you that there exists a common, everyday vegetable which, when eaten several times a week fresh or lightly steamed, has been proven to reduce the risk of developing a variety of horrible malignancies?

Well, the vegetable is broccoli and the health benefits have been scientifically proven beyond any reasonable doubt! My sources are fully cited at the end of this article.

THE FACTS

Broccoli has been proven to help protect against genetic cancers; reduce hardening of the arteries and improve heart function; boost our aging immune systems; prevent and fight cancers and tumors of the lungs, prostate, colon, ovaries, breast and bladder; enhance DNA repair in cells; provide high levels of protection against childhood leukemia and lymphoma when consumed by pregnant and nursing women; and help protect against Alzheimer's disease and macular degeneration. The health benefits of broccoli are so unbelievably potent that everyone should partake. There is no downside to eating broccoli.

The anti-cancer properties of broccoli are so well established that the American Cancer Society recommends that Americans increase their intake of broccoli to several times a week.

These incredible attributes of broccoli are due to the laundry list of natural, disease-fighting phytochemicals called antioxidants and anticarcinogens which are present and concentrated in the edible portion of the plant and may exist in varying amounts in other members of the family. Antioxidants are nutrients which protect against tissue damage from a lifetime of normal metabolism. Anticarcinogens protect against cancers.

The word broccoli (Brassica oleracea), also called calabrese and brocks, comes from the Italian word "brocco", meaning branch. Broccoli is a member of the Brassicaceae family (alternately called the Cruciferae family because the four-petal flowers resemble crosses), which also includes cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and kale.

The natural phytochemicals which proffer such acclaimed protection against human diseases include: Glucosinolates; Dithiolthiones; Indoles; Glucoraphanin; S-Methyl Cysteine Sulfoxide; Isothiocyanates; Indole-3-Carbinol; Sulforaphane; Isothyiocyanates; Phenethyl-isothyiocyanates; Kaempferol; Diindolylmethane; 4-methylsulfinylbutyl isothiocyanate; 3,3'-diindolylmethane; and Carotenoids. Other important, and more easily pronounced, nutrients in broccoli include valuable quantities of calcium, fiber,

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