Cruciferous Veggies… Say What?
I’ve been a vegetarian for over 37 years and have read plenty of books on nutrition. I even fancy myself a pretty good Jeopardy player.
Recently I’ve noticed the term cruciferous vegetables crop up in various articles on the net. Embarrassed to say I didn’t know exactly what that meant.
So what’s the scoop on these cruciferous veggies getting so much positive press these days?
Cruciferous vegetables are named for the four equal-sized petals in their flowers shaped like a crucifix. The most popular cruciferous veggies include:
Why the rage — what makes these so special?
As a grouping, cruciferous veggies are the king of anti-oxidants in the food world. They are extremely high in vitamins A, C, and K, folic acid, and manganese. They are very high in fibre content — 100 calories will contribute 25 – 40% of your optimal daily fibre requirement.
Cruciferous Vegetables
All this provides great support to the liver, particularly to the phase two detoxification process.
Of recent interest in nutritional research is the phytonutrient content of cruciferous veggies. Scientists have found a unique organic compound called glucosinolate that is found to have many significant health benefits. It contains high levels of sulphur [in the form of sulphuraphane] and nitrogen. Sulphuraphane in particular has tremendous anti-oxidant and detoxification properties within the body.
Cruciferous vegetables are superstars in the food world. They provide excellent nutrition across a wide variety of nutritional categories. Everyone can benefit by adding these to his/her daily food intake.
If you didn’t know what cruciferous vegetables were, you do now — and so do I.
