Is cooked broccoli better than raw?

What about cooked cabbage? And Kale?

Eat 100 grams of cruciferous vegetables a day to keep cancer, auto-immune diseases, obesity, diabetes, and cholesterol away!

Vegetables such as Arugula, Bok Choy, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chard, Collard and mustard greens, Kale, Kohl rabi, Radish, Horsergram, Turnip, Watercress, etc. all come under the category of cruciferous vegetables.

They are rich in nutrients, including several carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin), vitamins C, E, and K, folate, minerals and are also a good source of fiber.

Now it is quite particularly clear that you must include cruciferous vegetables in your diet. However, there is also a certain way of eating these vegetables to attain their maximum nutritional benefits.

But what is the best way to cook them?

Broccoli, cauliflower and other such cruciferous vegetables have a particular enzyme called sulforaphane.

This enzyme is extremely important whether in terms of its anti-cancer properties, fat loss, reducing estrogen dominance for people struggling with PCOS and other such health benefits.

But sulforaphane is not just present in these vegetables. When these vegetables are chopped, they release an enzyme called myrosinase which is later converted into sulforaphane.

The cruciferous plant releases sulforaphane on being chopped/ chewed as a defense mechanism.

However, this conversion process takes about 45 minutes to occur.

Therefore, ideally, with cruciferous vegetables, you should first chop them and leave them aside for around 45 minutes. This way you wait for the formation of sulforaphane before you cook them.

Myrosinase is destroyed by heat, but sulforaphane is not. So if you cook them immediately, then you don’t get any benefits.

But what if you do not want to wait 45 minutes? I mean, who has the time.

You could alternatively add some myrosinase after the veggies are cooked because remember, sulforaphane is not destroyed by heat. But you do not have to go to any lab to find myrosinase, its actually right in your kitchen! Yeah!

The active ingredient in mustard seeds is myrosinase. Add some mustard seeds to your cooking and you are set!

Now you know why mustard seeds are used in Indian cooking ;)

Trust this helps,

Roshni Sanghvi.