There are over thirty types of BV's (brassica vegetables) but most people only eat a fraction of these on a regular basis, namely cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Of these cabbage and broccoli are consumed the most (source: Statista.com).
Out of these four vegetables, broccoli is highly (albeit mistakenly) regarded as being the most nutritious and beneficial. So for simplicity, the focus in this book is mainly on broccoli. But to be clear all brassica vegetables should be avoided.
Here is a nutritional chart of broccoli:
As we can see, broccoli has no significant amounts of nutrients apart from fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and potassium. When you compare the vitamin and mineral content of broccoli with fruit you quickly realize that broccoli nutrition is mediocre. Let's briefly look at broccoli nutrition more closely.
Vitamin A
Many vitamins and minerals in the body work together synergistically, and this argument is used to defend broccoli. It is often proclaimed that broccoli can help solve a so-called 'vitamin D deficiency epidemic'. There is no 'epidemic' as such relating to vitamin D. Clearly, some people may be suffering from a lack of vitamin D but that is not related to broccoli or ameliorated by broccoli, since broccoli has no vitamin D at all.
The argument is that broccoli gives you plenty of vitamin A and K so that when you receive vitamin D from other sources, all three vitamins can work together.
As we can see in the above chart, broccoli has a small amount of vitamin A. This vitamin is widely available from many plant-based and animal-based foods such as meat, fish, carrots, lettuce, potatoes, all kinds of sprouted seeds, mangoes, butternut squash, condiments such as paprika, basil and majorman, cantaloupe, peas, tomatoes, peaches, papayas and many other foods. There is generally no shortage of vitamin A in the population at large and the mediocre amount in broccoli is not particularly significant.
The amount of vitamin K in broccoli is negligible (about 160 micrograms per cup). Furthermore, virtually all plant-based foods contain vitamin K in varying degrees and we generally have plenty of vitamin K in the diet. It is virtually unknown for people to suffer health problems as a result of a lack of vitamin K in the diet. Furthermore, note that vitamin K thickens the blood so foods and supplements high in vitamin K should be avoided, particularly if you may be at risk of heart disease, stroke or other blood-related health problems.
So to argue that broccoli helps the body assimilate vitamin D by virtue of having vitamin A and K is disingenuous to say the least.
Fiber
The fiber in broccoli is mostly harmful insoluble fiber that provides no health benefits at all. A detailed look at dietary fibre is beyond the scope of this book, but you should know that insoluble fibre is bad news for the human body and causes nothing but health problems. If you doubt this you are urged to see the excellent book 'Fiber Menace' by Konstantin Monastyrsky.
However, soluble fiber is good for health and is worlds apart from insoluble fiber. They are completely different to each other at a molecular level. Soluble fibre melts when consumed (gets eaten by friendly bacteria) and has many super-healthy benefits. Insoluble fiber passes virtually intact through the body causing nothing but harm and is totally unnecessary in the diet.
"Insoluble fiber is bad for health as it harms the delicate lining of the gut and it ferments poorly, often resulting in the proliferation of harmful bacteria and the risk of disease. Also, poorly fermented insoluble fiber has a laxative effect that upsets regular bowel movements, and in so doing valuable minerals are lost. Furthermore, harmful lectins are more concentrated in high fiber foods such as grains, beans, and vegetables. Insoluble fiber causes bloating, intestinal inflammation, abdominal cramps, gastritis, nausea, vomiting, rectal bleeding, constipation, gum and teeth disease (from pulverized/processed fiber), gastric ulcer, heartburn, hiatal hernia, pancreatitis, cholecystitis, entiritis, crohn's disease, hernia, malnutrition, and many other health problems, making the list almost too long to mention". Source: Eaton, R, The Lipo Diet, 2015, DeliveredOnline.com.
It so happens that broccoli contains significantly more insoluble fiber than soluble fiber. Some BV's contain much higher amounts of harmful insoluble fibre compared to broccoli.
According to Wikipedia, broccoli contains "2.6g of dietary fiber in a serving of 100g". And 'dietary fiber' is described as a mix of insoluble and soluble fiber. In fact, only about a third to a half of the fiber content in broccoli is soluble depending on how cooked (source: prebiotin.com). Furthermore we only receive a tiny amount of soluble fiber (roughly about 1g) in a 100g serving of broccoli.
And here is the point: we can acquire plenty of soluble fiber from just about every type of plant-based food that we eat. Virtually all types of fruit, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts and seeds provide soluble fiber and there is no shortage of such fiber in the human diet. It is therefore disingenuous to say that broccoli is good for you because of its content of soluble fiber. And the insoluble fibre in broccoli does nothing but harm. Whenever you see the fiber content of broccoli being lauded don't believe the hype.
Vitamin C
The vitamin C content of a serving of lightly steamed broccoli is mediocre, on a par with an orange. Furthermore, if the broccoli is boiled (or cooked by any other means) the vitamin C content will be greatly reduced to an insignificant level. Vitamin C is particularly affected by the heat of cooking.
Many fruits contain similar or greater quantities of vitamin C compared to raw or lightly steamed broccoli. Here is a table for comparison:
Since most BV's are consumed cooked, do not kid yourself that broccoli is giving you any significant amount of vitamin C.
Vitamin B6
"Vitamin B6 is widely distributed in foods in both its free and bound forms. [Food] sources include meats, whole-grain products (including cereals), vegetables, nuts, and bananas. Cooking, storage, and processing losses of vitamin B6 vary and in some foods [the loss] may be more than 50%" (source: Wikipedia.org).
In broccoli, the amount of vitamin B6 is a mere 15% of the recommended daily amount, mediocre to say the least. Furthermore, vitamin B6 is soluble in water so most of it is lost when boiled or steamed. We acquire plenty of vitamin B6 from many foods and the population at large is generally not short of vitamin B6 (we certainly don't need it from broccoli).
Folate
Folate (also known as folic acid or as vitamin B9) occurs in a wide variety of foods. It is high in many kinds of fruit, nuts, beans, peas, dairy products, poultry, meat, eggs, seafood, grains, avocado, spinach, liver, yeast, asparagus and even some beers. Just about all kinds of food contain some degree of folate. It is very susceptible to the heat of cooking and is also soluble in cooking water. Hence cooked broccoli will contain negligible amounts of folate. In any event, the amount of folate in broccoli is very little compared to many other foods.
Potassium
Experts suggest 4,700 milligrams of dietary potassium a day for adults as part of a balanced diet. But average intake is lower for U.S. adults. Men average 3,200 milligrams per day of potassium, and women average 2,400 milligrams. This means that many people do not have enough potassium on a daily basis.
However, it is easy to acquire enough potassium in the diet by consuming a variety of fruit (and vegetables that do not include brassica vegetables). Even fish and dairy products contain significant potassium. Just one good-sized banana or a small avocado contains more potassium than a cupful of lightly cooked broccoli. If the broccoli is well cooked in water most of the potassium will be destroyed. You simply cannot rely on broccoli to boost your potassium in the diet.
Carotenoids and lutein
Broccoli is said to have high levels of carotenoids and lutein. There are hundreds of types of carotenoids, and lutein is simply one of them. Caretonoids are an important part of the human diet because the body does not make them. They fulfil a variety of important roles such as boosting the antioxidant capacity of the body and acting as efficient free-radical scavengers.
Although carotenoids are abundant in fruit and vegetables that are coloured (e.g. red, yellow, orange, purple) they are also widely found in 'non-coloured' food items, e.g. avocados, nuts, seeds, sprouted seeds, baby shoots and kiwifruit, to name but a few.
In fact some degree of carotenoids are found in just about all plant-based and animal-based foods. It would be rare to find a person suffering health problems from a lack of carotenoids, and it is certainly not necessary to eat BV's to obtain carotenoids. Furthermore, the content of carotenoids in, for example, broccoli is paltry compared to many other foods.
Selenium
Broccoli is often lauded for its antioxidant prowess by virtue of having selenium. In fact the selenium content of broccoli is very little; in any event selenium is widely available from nuts, seeds, sprouted seeds, baby shoots, starchy vegetables and many other foods including meat and sea foods. Generally, there is no shortage of selenium in the human diet.
Selenium is used by the human body to produce glutathione peroxidase, which is part of the body's antioxidant defence system. In this way, selenium helps offset damage that can occur from potentially harmful free radical molecules. Synthesised selenium is continuously being studied for possible therapeutic effects on cancer.
The selenium content of broccoli is indeed paltry. Even a 100g slice of bread has more selenium than a 100g of broccoli. Furthermore, cooking broccoli (particularly boiling) quickly destroys most of the selenium. You simply cannot argue that broccoli fights cancer by virtue of its selenium content.
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