Public Health

• Broccoli contains a beneficial compound called sulforaphane, which has potential health benefits like blood sugar control and anti-cancer properties.
• Eating the whole broccoli vegetable provides more sulforaphane than taking a supplement.
• Common cooking methods like boiling and microwaving can significantly reduce the amount of glucosinolates (the precursor to sulforaphane) in broccoli.
• The enzyme myrosinase is responsible for converting glucosinolates into sulforaphane, but it is sensitive to heat.
• The researchers found that the best way to maximize sulforaphane content is to first chop the broccoli into small pieces (2mm) to activate the myrosinase, then let it sit for 90 minutes before stir-frying for 4 minutes.
• Stir-frying broccoli right after chopping resulted in 2.8 times less sulforaphane compared to letting it sit for 90 minutes first.
• The researchers suggest that 30 minutes of sitting time before cooking may also be helpful, though they did not test this.
• Eating raw broccoli provides the highest sulforaphane levels, but the researchers are looking into ways to reduce the prep time needed.
• Broccoli supplements may not be as effective as eating the whole vegetable when it comes to obtaining sulforaphane.
• The study was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Via Kagi's summarizer.