Did you know that ancient Romans created broccoli by engineering a cabbage-relative plant? Despite being around for thousands of years, broccoli was not brought to the United States until 1942.

Broccoli is made up of thousands of flowers called an inflorescence.¹ In addition to being a flower, broccoli is a tasty vegetable that has many health benefits. Many people will add broccoli to their recipes for flavor and for its great nutritional benefits.

Here are five health benefits of broccoli that you can get from enjoying some of this tasty vegetable.

Nutritional Health Benefits

One health benefit of broccoli is that it has a variety of healthy nutrients. For example, one cup of broccoli has:

• 135% of the Daily Recommended Value of Vitamin C
• 116% of the Daily Recommended Value of Vitamin K
• 6 grams of Protein
• 4 grams of Fiber²

In order to receive the maximum number of nutritional benefits from broccoli, it is recommended to eat broccoli raw. If you find it difficult to eat it this way, you could steam the broccoli rather than boiling it. While you will lose some nutritional value in the steaming process, it is a better alternative to boiling.³

May Help Manage Diabetes

Another health benefit of broccoli is that it may help someone manage their diabetes condition because it can lower the body’s blood sugar levels. This is due to the sulforaphane, a plant compound that has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.⁴

Researchers conducted a test with ninety-seven people who have type-2 diabetes. For twelve weeks, the researchers had the participants take a dose of sulforaphane through a liquid broccoli sprout extract. The study found that the participants had a distinct reduction in their blood sugar levels.⁵

Provide a Hormonal Balance

An additional health benefit of broccoli is that it may help balance the body’s hormones with the plant compound, indole-3-carbinol (also known as I3C).

Research has found that the indole-3-carbinol in broccoli can help regulate the body’s estrogen levels.⁶ Estrogen is a hormone that is essential to the body’s reproductive system. If you have a high level of estrogen in your body, you may experience weight gain, poor mood, or infertility.⁷

On the other hand, if you have a low level of estrogen, you may get more headaches, UTIs, or fatigue, which is why it is important to have balanced hormones.⁸

Improve Heart Health

Another health benefit of broccoli is that it may improve your heart health with its antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, fiber, and potassium. These properties are known to help lower cholesterol levels and maintain blood pressure levels.⁹

Specifically, these properties in broccoli help lower the bad cholesterol or LDL. The fiber stops the bad cholesterol from causing a buildup in your arteries. Additionally, because broccoli is high in potassium, it can help avert high blood pressure.¹⁰

May Lower Cancer Risk

Broccoli’s antioxidants stop cell damage, which can be responsible for causing cancer.

Broccoli’s plant compounds, indole-3-carbinol and sulforaphane, cause apoptosis in your body.¹¹ Apoptosis is programmed cell death, which is the process of unnecessary cells dying in your body. For example, apoptosis is responsible for killing billions of cells in your bone marrow and intestines every hour.¹² If apoptosis does not occur, it can lead to the development of a tumor.¹³

Ways to Eat More Broccoli

There are many ways that you can incorporate broccoli into your diet. Here are some examples of how you can enjoy broccoli.

• Enjoy broccoli with dip as a snack
• Roast your broccoli with olive oil
• Add broccoli to a chicken stir fry
• Put broccoli in your salad
• Cook a broccoli soup
• Add broccoli to a quiche
• Bake a vegetable pie with broccoli
• Add broccoli to your rice mixture
• Add broccoli to a morning omelet