Surely you already knew that the consumption of vegetables, greens, and plant-based foods in general is associated with a great number of health benefits. Within this broad group of foods, there is a variety of vegetables known as cruciferous plants or vegetables that play a significant role in maintaining optimal health, even actively participating in the prevention of different types of cancer, as suggested by some scientific studies.
What are Cruciferous Vegetables?
But let’s start with the basics, let’s define what cruciferous vegetables are. Cruciferous vegetables constitute a broad group of vegetables for food consumption, including everything from broccoli, cauliflower, or Brussels sprouts to curly kale, radishes, or arugula, for example.
These green leafy vegetables are commonly associated with numerous health benefits, such as maintaining a healthy weight or preventing cardiovascular diseases. All these benefits are related to the high percentage of minerals, vitamins, and fiber that these foods contain.
Glucosinolates Seem to Be Responsible for Many Benefits
The health benefits mentioned earlier in connection with the consumption of cruciferous vegetables are largely due to glucosinolates. These compounds are largely responsible for the penetrating aroma and also the bitter taste that characterizes cruciferous vegetables. In addition, glucosinolates release other bioactive compounds during chewing and digestion, such as isothiocyanates and indoles, strongly linked to an anticancer role.
In fact, there are scientific studies in vitro and also in animals confirming the protective role of indoles and isothiocyanates regarding some types of cancer, such as bladder, breast, colon, or liver cancer. However, this does not mean that in humans it has the same protective effect; it is only an indication of it, so it is worth continuing to investigate in this line to find possible future benefits scientifically proven.
Other Benefits of Cruciferous Vegetables
Not only are there healthy benefits attributed to cruciferous vegetables in relation to cancer prevention, but vegetables like broccoli also participate in other health advantages, such as arterial hardening, which plays a protective role against hypertension by strengthening our cardiovascular system in general.
Other studies also relate the consumption of cruciferous vegetables to lower mortality from all causes, such as stroke, heart or respiratory disease, mainly due to the large proportion of micronutrients of interest, such as carotenoids beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and also vitamins C, E, K, and folic acid.
Let’s not forget calcium, a highly important mineral for maintaining our bones, and with respect to which cruciferous vegetables have much to say. Although calcium is traditionally associated with dairy, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli also stand out for a high presence of this mineral, which is quite positive for our bones and helps prevent diseases such as osteoporosis.
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