Eating broccoli may protect against heart disease, US research suggests.
A Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry study has suggested that broccoli may trigger the production of proteins, which protect against heart damage.
As part of the study, which was conducted at the cardiovascular research centre at the University of Connecticut, rats were fed an extract of broccoli for a month, and the effect on their heart muscle was measured.
Compared with the animals whose diet did not change, the hearts of the rats that ate broccoli functioned better and displayed less damage when deprived of oxygen.
The broccoli diet appears to persuade the body to produce a protein called thioredoxin, which protects against cell damage in the heart. Broccoli contains sulforaphane, which is seen as particularly effective in triggering this process.
However, the study has discovered that lightly steamed version of the vegetable may be more powerful than the one that has been left to boil, confirming the belief that broccoli loses nutrients when over cooked.
The researchers are now looking into whether broccoli and other vegetables, including cabbage and Brussels sprouts, may also help fight other diseases.
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