Property News · April 9, 2017

The decline and fall of broccoli’s nutrients


This cruciferous crop really is better the fresher you eat it, and now is the time to get the seeds in the groundThe old mantra of “the fresher the better” is one that is so frequently bandied about as a reason to grow your own that many of us believe unquestioningly that it must be true, particularly when it comes to the nutritional content of our crops. But is there any evidence to support this belief? Well, perhaps surprisingly, many crops actually show a measurable increase in phytonutrients, even flavour chemicals, upon storage. Sweet potatoes, winter squash, even fruit such as tomatoes and berries for example, can become noticeably sweeter, more fragrant, richer in vitamins and potentially protective phytonutrients if not eaten straight from the garden.However, there are a few crops for which research does show that freshness can make a truly phenomenal difference, making homegrown the very best option, and nowhere is this more true than in the case of broccoli. In a recent study a Spanish research team aimed to replicate the conditions which broccoli is typically subjected to from field to fork – storing them at 1C for a week to mimic industrial transport and storage followed by three days at 15C to simulate it sitting on the store shelves, with some eyebrow-raising results. They reported that by the time broccoli gets to you it could have lost 80% of its potentially heart-healthy glucosinolates, a group of sulphur-based chemicals that also provide this veg with its characteristic flavour and purported cancer-protective effects. Continue reading…

Source : theguardian.com
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