One of broccoli’s most powerful compounds is the phytochemical sulforaphane. This compound has been found to restore your immune system as you age and increase your liver's ability to detoxify carcinogenic compounds and free radicals. This in turn protects against cell mutations, cancer and other harmful effects.



It turns out sulforaphane also protects your heart, via two routes:





1. It reduces levels of harmful molecules called Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS).

2. It activates a protein called nrf2, which triggers protective antioxidant and detoxifying enzymes that protect your cells and tissues.





Broccoli is not the only vegetable that contains sulforaphane, though. Most of the veggies in the cruciferous family also contain it, and this includes vegetables such as turnips, cabbage, bok choy, rutabaga, mustard greens, cauliflower, radishes and many others.



To really get the most benefit, it helps to find out your nutritional type, as some people actually do not do well with broccoli.



For instance, one of the most serious mistakes is for a protein nutritional type to consume a lot of dark green vegetables. This tends to over-alkalinize your system and worsens rather than improves your health if you’re a protein type. This is despite the many beneficial phytonutrients that are present. I am very familiar with this mistake as it’s one that I made prior to understanding nutritional typing.



However, other cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, which happens to be beneficial for protein types, can have a similar beneficial effect.



I want you to be aware of just how important it is to understand your body at a deeper level, because if you are a protein type and were to eat broccoli, the other effects of broccoli might push your metabolic biochemistry in the wrong direction and thus override its benefits.

If you want to get even more of broccoli’s benefits, opt for the sprouts. Just 5 grams (0.17 ounces) of broccoli sprouts contain concentrations of the compound glucoraphanin (a precursor to sulforaphane) equal to that found in 150 grams (5.2 ounces) of mature broccoli.



If you opt to eat mature broccoli, keep in mind that the way you cook it can greatly alter its nutrient content. Lightly steaming this vegetable should keep most of its phytonutrients intact, but if you decide to microwave it you could be reducing the beneficial compounds by 74-90 percent.



You can always just eat broccoli raw, of course, and this will ensure that most all of its phytonutrients are intact.

Eating broccoli and other veggies is only one small piece of the puzzle when it comes to keeping healthy.



Swapping out your grains and Sugar for high-quality sources of protein, healthy fat (which INCLUDES saturated fat) and vegetables according to your nutritional type, all of which is outlined in my book Take Control of Your Health, is also essential, especially for those of you with diabetes.



Next, add in regular exercise. This, combined with diet, will help you to shed excess weight, and a weight loss of 10 pounds can reduce your risk of diabetes by nearly 60 percent.



Diet and exercise are your two keys to preventing both heart disease and diabetes, but the third factor, especially for heart disease, is your emotions. Stress is the most common cause of heart attacks, so make sure you know how to keep your emotions under control using methods like the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), meditation, or even just a long soak in the tub with a really good book.





Related Articles:





Diabetes Is Not A Disease Of Blood Sugar!



How Broccoli Fights Cancer



Broccoli Boosts Aging Immune Systems



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