Broccoli - the anti cancer veg that could do your heart good.

If there's a poster veggie for healthy eating, it has to be broccoli - in fact you could paper the walls with good news stories spruiking it's health benefits. There's the one that says broccoli puts the brakes on prostate cancer in mice, and another that names broccoli as a source of glucosinolates - a compound that can help protect the brain from Alzheimer's.

Broccoli's latest triumph is a new report from the University of Warwick in the UK, suggesting that another compound in broccoli called sulphoraphane helps reverse the harm that high blood sugar levels can do to the blood vessels of people with diabetes. Sulphoraphane seems to work in two ways - one is by boosting the production of enzymes that protect the blood vessels, and the other is by reducing the levels of molecules which damage the cells of blood vessels.

Sulphoraphane is the same compound that's been found to reduce bladder cancer in rats and, in other lab studies, to help protect against cancer of the colon and pancreas, according to the
American Cancer Society

A small study by the American Institute for Cancer Research last year also found that eating broccoli daily reduced oxidative stress (another term for for an overload of free radicals in the body) which is linked to the development of both cancer and Alzheimer's Disease.

It is, of course, a leap from promising results in test tubes or mice to knowing for certain that sulphoraphane really is working overtime in your body to repair damaged blood vessels or nip cancer in the bud, but I think I'll give broccoli the benefit of the doubt, and keep putting it on the family's dinner plate.

But what if you don't like broccoli? Then you probably don't like Brussels sprouts either - both are high in glucosinolates which are responsible for the characteristic smell of Brussels sprouts and broccoli which is what puts many people off. But, as with many other vegetables, it may be that you'll like broccoli (and Brussels sprouts) if they're prepared differently. You could:

- Cook them really lightly. I bet many people's dislike of Brussels and broccoli comes from bad encounters with overcooked, mushy greens. But steaming either of these vegetables until they're just tender results in less smell and a better flavour. Cutting Brussels sprouts into halves or even quarters means you only have to steam them very lightly. Blanching broccoli or sprouts first then stir-frying them in a little soy sauce with garlic and ginger can also make a difference.

-Eat broccoli raw. The trick here is to break broccoli sprigs into the tiniest florets and add them to salads - they don't have to dominate the salad bowl, but tossed into a mix of ripe tomatoes, white cannelini beans, onion and pinenuts,with olive oil, vinegar and basil, they add crunch and a counterbalance to the mild smoothness of the beans.

-Add a little cheese to your broccoli. Purists will not like me for this, but I think you can make an okay cheese sauce with a roux of olive oil and a little wholemeal flour into which you stir reduced fat milk and a little Parmesan. Or you can add broccoli to pasta and pesto. While the pasta is boiling, lightly steam some broccoli florets, pat dry and saute gently with olive oil, chilli and a few shallots. When the pasta is cooked, combine it with the sauteed broccoli and combine with pesto.

And if that doesn't work? Try broccoli's sweeter cousin, broccolini, or eat cauliflower, cabbage, watercress and Asian greens like pak choy, buk choy, Choy sum and Chinese broccoli that contain many of the same protective compounds.

How do you eat broccoli - and have you found ways to convert reluctant broccoli eaters?