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Teaming fresh broccoli with a spicy food that contains the enzyme myrosinase significantly enhances each food's individual cancer-fighting power and ensures that absorption takes place in the upper part of the digestive system where you'll get the maximum health benefit, suggests a new University of Illinois study.
To get this effect, spice up your broccoli with broccoli sprouts, mustard, horseradish, or wasabi. The spicier, the better; that means it's being effective," said Elizabeth Jeffery, a U of I professor of nutrition.
In the study, when fresh broccoli sprouts were eaten with broccoli powder, the scientists were able to measure bioactive compounds in the blood 30 minutes later. When these peaked at three hours, they were much higher when the foods were eaten together than when either was eaten alone. Urine samples corroborated the blood results, said Jenna Cramer, lead author of the study.
It's no secret that many people cook the benefits right out of broccoli instead of steaming it lightly for two to four minutes to protect its healthful properties, she said.
"However, this study shows that even if broccoli is overcooked, you can still boost its benefits by pairing it with another food that contains myrosinase," she said.
Myrosinase is the enzyme necessary to form sulforaphane, the vegetable's cancer-preventive component, co-author Margarita Teran-Garcia explained.
02:21 PM on 4/08/2009
Hello? The author of this article doesn’t seem to know the difference between "baby broccoli" which is the young, rooted broccoli plant, and broccoli sprouts, which are the sprouted seeds of broccoli, before it roots and takes the mature plant form. These are two very different things, yet the author of the article, who apparently has no idea what broccoli sprouts are, uses the two terms interchangeably.
What the scientists are talking about is sprouts. That’s where the sulforaphane is. But I agree with the previous poster–you wouldn’t like them. Eating them is horrible. Leave that task to me.
03:38 PM on 4/06/2009
Do not buy broccoli seed and sprout it in a jar on your window sill. (Broccoli seed is expensive enough without the dolts coming round to it.) You hate broccoli. Pay no attention to the fact broccoli sprouts are one of the most nutritionally dense foods known to man. Forget it. You hate it.
10:56 PM on 4/07/2009
LOL.
12:26 PM on 4/06/2009
Good! I love Broccoli... Maybe Michelle could grow some Barackoli in her vegetable garden!
http://pitchbendpost.blogspot.com/
12:45 PM on 4/06/2009
Here it is in black and white, folks:
Quote: My mother made me eat broccoli. I hate broccoli.
I am president of the United States. I will not eat any more broccoli. Unquote
George H.W.Bush
I rest my case