As I wrote earlier cruciferous vegetables (also known as brassica vegetables) have it all: vitamins, fiber, and disease-fighting phytochemicals. Not only they are rich in nutrients, including several carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin); vitamins C, E, and K, folate and many minerals but recent lab studies show that one of the phytochemicals found in cruciferous vegetables – sulforaphane – can stimulate enzymes in the body that detoxify carcinogens before they damage cells. Additionally, cruciferous vegetables contain a group of substances known as glucosinolates, which are sulfur-containing chemicals. These chemicals are responsible for the pungent aroma and bitter flavor of those vegetables. The astonishing concentration of vitamin A carotenoids and their unusually high content of vitamin C and manganese are clearly key components in their growing reputation as an antioxidant vegetable group. Adding the following vegetables to your daily diet is like taking an anticancer pill: arugula, beet greens, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi (harder to source but packs a punch), mustard greens, radishes, red cabbage, turnip greens, wasabi and my all time favorite, watercress.
As an aside it is worth noting that the origin of the word cruciferous comes from Cruciferae, an older name meaning “cross-bearing”, because the four petals of the cruciferous flowers are reminiscent of a cross.
