Broccoli: The Ultimate Superfood

Broccoli, a member of the cabbage family, is often called the "crown jewel of nutrition" and truly is a superfood that can stand alone on it's own merits. Originating in Mediterranean Europe and grown year round in warmer climates today, broccoli is one of the easiest vegetable to grown in your garden. Because the mature plants are cold and light frost hardy, the plant will produce for you from July through November in the Upper Midwest. After you harvest the large central head you'll find smaller shoots available for the rest of the season. As with all vegetables and non-peel fruits, broccoli is one best eaten organic for multiple reasons. Not only are you avoiding potentially harmful herbicides and pesticides, and loosing out on the phytochemicals lost during conventional growing, you will find that organic broccoli tastes sweeter than its conventionally raised brother, which often has a bitter taste.

Broccoli has one of the most complete nutritional profiles of all vegetables. Not only does it contain significant amounts of the vitamins and minerals you would expect to find in seasonal produce (vitamins A,B,C,E) but it also contains copious amounts of hard to find vitamin K (a factor needed for normal blood clotting), folate and choline (brain food), and a fair amount of protein for a vegetable. You'll even find Omega 3 fatty acids in broccoli, something all of us need more of in our diet.

From a seasonal providence prospective, broccoli is one of the first nutrient dense foods you will harvest in your garden. While most midsummer fruit and veggies are full of water soluble vitamins, and minerals that offer us support and protection for the present, broccoli (and the foods that follow) begin preparing us for autumn/ winter with more proteins, fats, and fat soluble vitamins. Certainly, our ancestors would appreciate the stores of vitamin K, fats, and proteins in their system from broccoli when they began hunting game in the fall and faced injuries from the hunt or even being hunted themselves by predators. For us today, broccoli is a five star food that is nutrient dense, offers a great "fullness factor", and has a very low glycemic index. In other words, we can eat a lot of it and gain in everything but weight. Truly, our omnipotent Lord is amazing in his timing.


If you would like to see a complete nutritional profile on broccoli check out the website Nutritiondata.com