Broccoli Nutrition
A Few Important Facts About Broccoli Nutrition
When it comes to broccoli, nutrition is one of the first things that we consider, just after its wonderful taste of course. Broccoli is an esteemed member of the cabbage family, keeping company with many of our other favorites including brussel sprouts, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, and of course cabbage. The most wonderful thing about broccoli nutrition to be discovered of late is that it contains cancer prevention and fighting elements, making it much more popular with the scientific and medical communities. Therefore recommended as a consistent part of your daily diet, you can benefit from the many other nutritional offerings in broccoli.
Broccoli nutrition includes a fair amount of potassium, and this is necessary to the proper production and flow of your blood and circulatory system. Potassium is recommended for those who suffer severe leg cramps and RLS, and broccoli can help you to keep up on your daily needs for this element. Perhaps the most prominent nutrient in broccoli is vitamin C, of which this tasty green flowered vegetable has 135% of our daily needs. Healthy skin, shiny hair, and strong cuticles are all outward signs that a person is taking their fair share of vitamin C, and the inward benefits are just as important as those that we can see.
Broccoli nutrition also includes 115% of our recommended daily allowance for vitamin K, as well as a healthy helping of folic acid. Broccoli has absolutely no fat and no cholesterol, and adds a scant 31 calories per one cup serving to our overall intake each day. It is also fairly low in carbohydrates, the good simple kind, at just 6 grams per serving. Don’t ever be fooled by the low carbohydrate hype, for we need this nutrient in its natural form in order to function well on a daily basis. Breads= bad/compound carbohydrates. Vegetables and Meat= good/simple carbohydrates. The difference lies in the way that the body metabolizes and stores the energy, and the simple ones are converted immediately into usable sugar, burned first. The compound types are stored and much harder for the body to utilize, causing weight gain when too many are ingested and remain unused.
Broccoli nutrition also includes just about every mineral and vitamin that we need for good health and wellness, including zinc, iron, copper, magnesium, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin E, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, manganese, and panthothenic acid. The only things missing from broccoli are vitamin D and vitamin B12, but for one food source I think our favorite flowering vegetable does us all very proud. Remember that boiling your broccoli will dilute and drain a lot of these important elements, so steaming is highly recommended.