How to Boost your Cruciferous Vegetables’ Bioavailability
First and foremost, what are cruciferous vegetables? They get their name from their cross shaped petals, apparently, though I must say that it is not true of all of them.
Some of the most popular cruciferous vegetables are broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, collards and cauliflower. For a more extensive list, look it up on Wikipedia ;).
Why should you care? In other words, why are they so good for you?
According to Dr. Greger, « they may protect our brain, protect our eyesight, protect against free radicals, induce our detoxification enzymes, help prevent cancer, as well as help treat it. » Wow. Ok, now I want me some of that action!
But how does it even work?
This is all thanks to a chain of reactions happening in our body when we chew them (raw) and eat them.
A way to eat them cooked and still get the benefits would be to simply chop them 40 minutes in advance and then cooking them.
Here is how it works:
In any intact cruciferous vegetable cell, there are two things:
1- Sulfur containing compounds, called glucosinolates.
2- An enzyme, called myrosinase.(1)
Here is what happens:
When the vegetable is intact, you may notice there is almost no smell to it. When you chop it, or chew it, however, you activate an enzyme called myrosinase, which in turn breaks down glucosinolates into compounds your body can absorb (isothyocyanates). This is when the sulfurous smell comes along.
Complicated words for what is actually a pretty simple concept. In other words, the two things I mentioned that are in the cell are not in contact when the cruciferous is intact.
Therefore, for this reaction to happen, the cells need to be broken. Hence: the need for pre-chopping broccoli or chewing it really well.
However, when cruciferous vegetables are frozen, that’s when it gets more complicated. Vegetables, before being frozen, are often blanched, leading to the loss of important enzymes that are needed for the chemical reactions that would normally happen for raw pre-chopped or chewed cruciferous vegetables.
That’s right, another obstacle! What can we do then?
We need another way to get an enzyme responsible for the benefits we want so badly. Where do we get it? Mustard seeds.
Pretty much everyone already has mustard or mustard seeds in their pantry, so this is a really available hack.
Fun fact, did you know that all cruciferous actually originated from the mustard plant? I didn’t!
In fact, mustard is a cruciferous as well, and an enzyme it contains is just what you need to complete the reaction you wish to induce.
It’s as simple as that: when cooking cruciferous vegetables that you did not chop 40 minutes prior to cooking, and if I’m honest, I rarely ever do that, or when using frozen cruciferous vegetables, simply add a little bit of mustard powder, and voilà!(2)
Mustard is also a great way to enhance the depth of a dish without adding salt.
Easy and tasty, just how I like my hacks!
Hope this was helpful,
Until next time!
I wish you all the happiness in the world :),
Marie-Chose
References :
All references are linked in text, with the exception of:
(1)Béliveau, R., & Gingras, D. (2009). Les aliments contre le cancer. Outremont, Québec.
(2)Faclm, G. M. M., & Stone, G. (2015). How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease (1st ed.). Flatiron Books.
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