We'd like to make one final comment about preparation of foods in
this cruciferous vegetable food group.
We'd like to make one final comment about preparation of foods in
this cruciferous vegetable food group.
The unique benefits of
this cruciferous vegetables food group may be partly related to inclusion of so many different plant parts in a cruciferous foods - including diet.
The unique benefits of
this cruciferous vegetables food group may be partly related to inclusion of so many different plant parts in a diet that includes cruciferous foods.
Not exact matches
By commonly consuming all parts of plants from this
group, including flowers, leaves, stems, stalks, roots and seeds, we allow this
cruciferous vegetable group to integrate together an unusually wide range of nutrients that is broader than any other single
food group subdivision in the average U.S. diet.
Finally, arugula, technically considered a
cruciferous vegetable (like broccoli and cabbage), is in a
group of
foods that contains di - indoly methane, or DIM which helps to promote healthy estrogen balance and reduces the risk of some cancers.
The methyl
groups that switch genes on and off are not made by the body, instead we get them by eating
foods rich in nutrients such as choline and folate, which are found in raw liver and
cruciferous vegetables like cabbage and broccoli.
While the traditional family name for this
group of
foods is «
cruciferous vegetables,» many scientists are tending away from the science name Crucifereae for this plant family and more toward the name Brassicaceae.
We are not aware of any
food group that matches
cruciferous vegetables for what we would call integrated nourishment across such a wide variety of nutritional categories.
Although the commercial
food industry has sometimes attempted to breed out bitter - tasting constituents from
cruciferous vegetables (including sinigrin, one of the glucosinolates especially plentiful in cabbage), that practice does not make sense if we want to optimize our nourishment from this
vegetable group.
Taken as a whole, we are not surprised by the hallmark impact on cancer prevention made by
cruciferous vegetables, or the potential of this
food group to modify activities in cells that have already become cancerous.
In fact, we can not find another
food group (even a fruit subgroup) that is as nutrient - rich in these antioxidants as the
cruciferous vegetables.
Support of Phase II detox activity by
cruciferous vegetables may be unsurpassed by any other
food group.
And because this 3 - system combination plays such a pivotal role in our risk of cancer development,
cruciferous vegetables are unsurpassed as a
food group in terms of their cancer risk - reducing properties.
Most of the research on dietary intake of
cruciferous vegetables and their physiological benefits has focused on intake of glucosinolates from this
food group.
The anti-inflammatory properties of
cruciferous vegetables — together with their unusual concentration of folic acid — combine to make this
food group protective against atherosclerosis, heart attack and stroke.
As a
food group, the
cruciferous vegetables are outstanding providers of these two antioxidant nutrients.
But given this unique ability on behalf of
cruciferous vegetables, it is not surprising that no other
group of
foods has a better track record when it comes to cancer prevention.
Among all cancer - preventive mechanisms studied by nutritional researchers, none have been as far - reaching as the mechanisms involving one unique family of phytonutrients, «the glucosinolates», found in no other
food group to the same extent that they are found in
cruciferous vegetables.
But it would be hard to find a single
food group that provides broader «all systems» support than the
cruciferous vegetables.
The combination of ITCs, vitamin K, and omega - 3s in
cruciferous vegetables make them a unique
food group for supporting our body's inflammatory system.
When combined with their extremely low - calorie, nutrient - rich nature, these features of
cruciferous vegetables make them a uniquely «whole body» support
food group.