Broccoli Sprouts – Good Things Can Come in Small Sizes
Broccoli Sprouts – Good Things Can Come in Small Sizes
Broccoli, a well-known and healthy vegetable that children don’t like to eat, is back in trend! This time in the form of microgreens or sprouts. This is one of the smallest and most powerful superfoods on the planet, which has a number of proven health benefits. It is extremely rich in vitamins, minerals and nutrients, such as vitamins A, C, K and B-complex, calcium, magnesium, selenium, zinc, iron and beta-carotene. These tiny sprouts are rich in anti-cancer compounds that help prevent stomach, colon, liver, breast, skin and prostate cancer.
What makes broccoli and sprouts unique?
All cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts) contain glucoraphanin, a compound that is converted during digestion into a nutrient called sulforaphane. Sulforaphane has many medicinal properties in relation to diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic inflammation, and from mild to severe cognitive impairment. Broccoli sprouts are the true champion of the green world in terms of sulforaphane content. They contain 20-40 times more sulforaphane than mature broccoli, which is what makes microgreens so valuable and healthy.
Broccoli Sprouts for Cancer
Sulforaphane in broccoli sprouts may help fight cancer cell growth by:
1. Blocking cell replication. Research shows that sulforaphane can inhibit cancer cells’ ability to replicate. The good news is that this only applies to cancer cells. Healthy cells are not blocked from replicating.
2. Cutting off blood supply. Cancers create an abnormally large blood supply around themselves to fuel their growth. Research has shown that sulforaphane helps prevent cancers from forming new blood vessels. But this only happens in cancerous tissue, not healthy tissue.
3. Promoting cell death. Cells have mechanisms that initiate cell death if a cell mutates. But this process doesn’t work in cancer cells. Sulforaphane can help reactivate this process, causing cancer cells to die.
4. Protecting DNA. Sulforaphane helps change the way your body deals with cancer toxins. Sulforaphane may help block processes that cause your DNA to mutate. Given how this phytochemical protects healthy cells and resists mutation, sulforaphane may be useful in fighting cancer cells.
The Health Benefits of Broccoli Microgreens
Broccoli sprouts may be tiny, but they pack a lot of health benefits. Technically, when you chew on the greens, you activate an enzyme called myrosinase, which converts a compound called glucoraphanin in broccoli sprouts into sulforaphane. Research has shown that sulforaphane can help prevent cancer, reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes, reduce inflammation, flush out toxins, and fight free radicals.
Broccoli sprouts are loaded with fiber, which can help fill you up. A single serving of sprouted seeds contains about 4 grams of fiber, compared to 2 grams in a serving of regular broccoli. A serving also contains about 60% of the vitamin C you need per day.
It is recommended including broccoli sprouts in your diet if you suffer from any of the following:
obesity;
osteoporosis;
diabetes;
high blood pressure;
bacterial infections;
arthritis;
Alzheimer’s disease;
gastrointestinal diseases.
How much to eat:
These tiny sprouts pack a big punch, and adding them to your diet could make you healthier or even save your life. Researchers say eating just over 15-20 grams a day is enough.
How they taste:
Sprouts don’t taste much like broccoli, which means they can be added to the diet of those who don’t like the taste of the “grown-up” vegetable.
Where to Buy Broccoli Sprouts
Luckily, as broccoli sprouts become more popular, they are also becoming more accessible. They can be found at many health food stores, markets, or even supermarkets.
You can also easily grow your own sprouts at home. To do this, place 2 tablespoons of broccoli seeds in a glass jar, fill them with filtered water, cover with a mesh lid and let the seeds swell for 5-8 hours in a cool place, away from sunlight, at room temperature. Then carefully drain the water through the mesh lid, rinse and turn the jar upside down to about 45%, placing it in a container where excess moisture will drain. Rinse the seeds and then the sprouts twice a day for about five days.
When the little leaves appear, place the jar in the sun to help the plants get chlorophyll. Always keep the jar upside down. Store the microgreens in the refrigerator, making sure not to over-water them to prevent mold. Although all experts say that broccoli sprouts are best eaten fresh, you can store them in the freezer to extend their shelf life.
How to use them?
It’s best not to cook them. This not only makes them soft, but also deprives them of their benefits. Otherwise, rely on your taste and imagination. Sandwiches, salads, as an additive to hummus, rolls, vegetable sauce, or other ready-made dishes — sprouts can be used everywhere.
A great option is a smoothie with berries, banana, and microgreens. Even kids will eat this delicious treat, and it will provide a ton of nutrition.
Whether you buy sprouts from the store or grow them yourselves, this is one of the easiest steps you can take to reduce inflammation in the body, flush out toxins, and become healthier from head to toe. These tiny greens are truly proof that good things can come in small sizes!
Precaution:
Despite all their health benefits, broccoli sprouts may cause an allergic reaction in some people. Therefore, you should always consult with your doctor or nutritionist before making any changes to your diet.
TODAY’S TIP: Paul Talalay, a professor of food chemistry and biotechnology at John Moores University in Brisbane, Australia, and one of the leading experts in the field of broccoli sprouts and their impact on human health has conducted a number of studies that have shown that broccoli sprouts contain up to 100 times more sulforaphane than adult broccoli, making them even more beneficial for health.
Paul Talalay has also developed a special method for growing broccoli sprouts that increases the amount of sulforaphane in them up to 20 times. This method is called “BroccoSprouts” and is already being used commercially in several countries.
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