Aside from its fantastic flavor – quick & easy preparation makes all the difference – broccoli has uniquely potent anti-inflammatory, heart health-promoting, cancer-fighting, body detoxification, and antioxidant properties. To get the most of both flavor and health benefits, it’s best to cook broccoli either by steaming it briefly or cooking it quickly in the microwave oven. You can see how to cook broccoli in the microwave oven (my preferred method for speed, ease, and best flavor & nutrition) by clicking either or both short step-by-step video or easy-to-follow step-by-step picture book recipe links.

The reason for quick cooking is to strike a fine balance between improving broccoli’s cooking-enhanced cholesterol-reducing properties, while at the same time, minimizing the loss of an enzyme needed to create broccoli’s potent anti-inflammatory compound, sulforaphane, that breaks down when exposed to cooking heat. Sulforaphane is made by combining the enzyme myrosinase, through chopping or chewing, with broccoli’s richly available glucoraphanin. For more detailed information about broccoli’s potent nutritional value and health benefits, click this link or the photo below to a comprehensive article from one of my favorite food nutrition sites, The World’s Healthiest Foods, and/or…

…either of the following links to Natural Health 365 or the Daily Mail for brief, informative articles about broccoli’s heart health and anti-inflammatory properties.