Spotlight On Broccoli Sprouts

Good Things Often Come In Small Packages And These Green Seedlings Contain Cancer-fighting Compounds.

- Julia Braybrook 

You may be unfamiliar with broccoli sprouts, but they’ve been lauded for their health benefits since the late 90s, when The New York Times published an article on their cancer-protecting benefits. In fact, that article triggered a global shortage, as people rushed to get their hands on the green shoots.

Broccoli sprouts look similar to alfalfa sprouts and have a slightly zesty, almost spicy flavour. While they’re just young broccoli plants, there are some differences between sprouts and the vegetable when it comes to health benefits. The sprouts contain about half as much vitamin A as mature broccoli and a third of the vitamin C content, but they’re a much better source of vitamin K. Sprouts have nearly 38 micrograms of the vitamin per cup, which helps with wound healing and bone health, while broccoli has just 0.4mg.

Super sprouts

The real reason the health world is buzzing about broccoli sprouts is because they contain much higher levels of the compound glucosinolate than mature broccoli. When plants containing glucosinolate are damaged – such as when we chew them – they release the enzyme myrosinase, which converts glucosinolate into an isothiocyanate called sulforaphane.