Broccoli, the most magical veggie of all

BROCCOLI is truly incredible. Studies show it can help prevent DNA damage and the spread of metastatic cancer. Research also suggests it can activate defences against pathogens and pollutants; help prevent lymphoma; boost the enzymes that detoxify your liver; target breast cancer stem cells; and reduce the risk of prostate cancer progression.

The key plant component responsible for all this is thought to be sulforaphane, a substance that is formed almost exclusively in cruciferous vegetables such as rocket, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, spring greens, horseradish, kale, mustard greens, radishes, turnip tops and watercress.

Sulforaphane may also help protect your brain and your eyesight, reduce nasal allergy inflammation and manage type 2 diabetes.

To get the full benefit of the sulforaphane, you should ideally eat cruciferous vegetables raw. Alternatively (and more deliciously), try adopting what I call the ‘Hack and Hold’ veg prep method.

There’s a key enzyme that doesn’t activate the sulforaphane until the vegetable is chopped or chewed, and that enzyme is destroyed by cooking — unless you’re prepared to wait about 40 minutes before putting it in the pan or oven. What about frozen broccoli? Sadly, commercially produced frozen broccoli lacks the ability to form sulforaphane, as the vegetables are flashcooked before they are frozen.

After that, it doesn’t matter how much you chop or how long you wait — you won’t get any sulforaphane.

But there is another way. The enzyme you need for the sulforaphane is also contained in mustard powder. You can therefore sprinkle mustard powder over cooked broccoli — even the frozen variety — and activate the sulforaphane.

Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli have also been shown to boost the effectiveness of a special type of white blood cell that is the first line of gut defence against pathogens.

But it’s not just broccoli that’s loaded with health benefits — plenty of other fruits and vegetables are, too.

Blueberries have been shown almost to double our levels of natural killer cells, which are an essential part of the immune system’s ‘rapid response team’ that fights against viruses and cancer cells.

Red cabbage, meanwhile, provides some of the highest levels of antioxidants very cheaply — three times as many as blueberries per pound. Tomatoes also appear to have special immunityenhancing powers: drinking tomato juice can rescue the immune function of people who have not had any fruit or veg for two weeks, while carrot juice apparently can’t.