I have been doing it wrong after all these years. I am so mad at myself. I have been cooking cruciferous vegetables the wrong way cancelling out all the amazing benefits – and there are many.
- Stimulates immunity
- Repairs damaged DNA
- Destroys cancer
- Shrinks tumors
- Reduces inflammation
- Supports detox
- Protects the brain
- Reduces blood sugar levels
- Balances estrogen
You see, it is the sulforaphane that the cruciferous vegetables produce that actually does all this magic. But sulforaphane doesn’t just sit in broccoli florets ready to be consumed. Instead, a chemical process must take place. It’s called the Sulforaphane Production System. Here is the scoop. It is formed when the enzyme myrosinase transforms glucoraphanin, a glucosinolate, into sulforaphane upon damage to the plant (chewing or chopping food during preparation). The chewing or chopping allows the compounds to mix and react.
So if you are eating raw broccoli, cauliflower, kale, brussel sprouts, cabbage or mustard greens you get the benefit. But – if you prepare them and then immediately cook the cruciferous vegetable you do not. Immediate cooking (roasting, microwaving, boiling, steaming) destroys the myrosinase and without this enzyme sulforaphane cannot be produced. Fortunately, there are 3 ways to work around this.
- Cut or chop the vegetable, let it sit for 40 minutes, then cook (hack and hold method). The exposure to air activates the chemical which then makes it impossible to be deactivated with cooking.
- Add a little bit of mustard powder to the cooked vegetables. The myrosinase in the mustard powder will activate the chemical process.
- Add some raw cruciferous vegetables to the cooked vegetables. There will be enough myrosinase in the raw vegetables to activate the cooked ones.
What about frozen broccoli, cauliflower, kale or brussel sprouts? Unfortunately because these vegetables are blanched prior to freezing (to preserve color, flavor and texture) the myrosinase is destroyed. To remedy this just add a pinch of mustard powder at the table.
The best way to eat cruciferous vegetables is raw but if you prefer to eat them cooked then either do the hack and hold method, add mustard powder or some raw to the cooked veggies. I hope you will take time to listen to Dr. Michael Gregor’s compelling video Second Strategy to Cooking Broccoli and may you reap the benefits of these amazing superfoods.
