Is Broccoli The Proverbial Fountain of Youth?

Wow!  If ever a vegetable needed a new public relations agent, it's broccoli.  For decades it's been the "poster vegetable" of everything kids -- and many adults -- hate about vegetables.

Broccoli has such a horrible reputation as a vegetable that it was once banned from the White House by Pres. George H.W. Bush in the 1980s. 

When you think of a vegetable nobody wants to eat, you choose broccoli.  I would like to be one to set the record straight.  I would like to give broccoli some free publicity on not only its tantalizing health benefits, but its talents in helping you achieve your weight loss and fat burning goals. And guess what? It tastes good, too!

Why?  Because I believe that broccoli's benefits extend far beyond mere weight loss into the realm that can only be labeled as a "super food."  You've heard a lot about super foods these days -- and yes, everyone has his own list.  But if you check these lists long enough, you'll see that broccoli is included on the lists somewhere.

Let's face it; it's just too good a vegetable to ignore. 

Let's start with the calorie count.  This gives you an indication of why you can eat practically unlimited amounts on your new weight loss lifestyle and not gain an ounce.  I have one friend, in fact, who swears that every time she eats broccoli she actually loses weight, regardless of what else she eats that day!

Do you have broccoli in your refrigerator right now?  Good take it out and take a good look at it.  Take one spear and remove it from the bunch.  Got it in your hand?  If it's about five inches long, it's considered a serving.  And this serving contains a "whopping" 11 calories.

Yep!  Only 11 calories.  It's practically fat free.  And it's packed with 98 mg of potassium.  But now here's the stunning aspect of this vegetable:  it contains 46 percent of your vitamin C -- according to government guidelines -- for the day!  It also provides you with four percent of your vitamin A and one percent each of your calcium and iron needs.

Certainly seems like a dieter's delight! But more than that it just may be the fountain of you traveling in cognito as a vegetable!

While this all may seem too good to be true, let's quickly run down some of the health benefits of this amazing food. It's been touted as a great preventive against cancer.  And it really doesn't matter what kind of cancer -- from prostate to ovarian to bladder cancer.  Consumption of the vegetable helps to reduce your risk of developing this degenerative category of disease.

This health benefit has been known for a while.  A little less known health benefit of broccoli is its ability to eliminate the bacteria Helicobacter pylori.  You may know this better as H. pylori.  It's been known to be the cause of several digestive problems -- including ulcers.

But now here's the real kicker.  If you're a pregnant woman and eat broccoli you may be taking the first step toward giving your unborn baby a healthy life. It's believed to be instrumental in preventing birth defects like spina bifida.  Part of this is due to its abundant folic acid content.  A cup of broccoli contains no less than 94 mcg of folic acid -- a member of the B-vitamin family.

Space really limits the amount of praise I can give this small nutritional powerhouse right here.  But nothing prevents you from going out to the store right now -- if you don't have broccoli in your refrigerator now -- and buying yourself some. 

You can steam it and have it as your side of vegetable for supper tonight.  You can add it to your bake potato for tomorrow's lunch.  Sautee some broccoli for your omelet in the morning. You can even just eat it raw while you're watching television tonight.  I'm sure I've missed some way you can eat this versatile -- and extremely nutritious -- food.  After all, you're limited only by your imagination.

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