Brussels Sprouts – a Veggie With Strong Anti-Cancer Powers

Have you ever noticed that Brussels sprouts look like tiny little cabbages? Well, that’s because they are! Brussels sprouts are cruciferous vegetables, members of the cabbage family. As such, they share some characteristics, like their look, their somewhat bitter taste, and the fact that they are very rich in sulforaphane, a potent anti-cancer compound present in all members of the cabbage family.

Brussels sprouts are highly nutritious. For starters, they are a top source of vitamin C and vitamin K, making them very important for our bones. They also have a good amount of protein, fiber, omeg-3 fatty acids, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, folate, manganese, phosphorus and potassium. So, Brussels sprouts are great for our heart, our immunity, our brain, our muscles, our early development, our metabolism, our red blood cells, our reproduction, our genes, and our cells.

Plus, as green leafy vegetables, Brussels sprouts are also a good source of lutein and zeaxanthin, two carotenoids that can protect our eyes from macular degeneration due to age, including cataracts.

We can enjoy our Brussels sprouts roasted, steamed, or sautéed. But if you want to rip the benefits of sulforaphane, you should at least cut them in half and wait 40 minutes before cooking them to ensure the sulforaphane is formed before one of its precursors gets deactivated by the heat. If you rather eat them whole, or if they’re simply too small to cut, you can always enjoy them with mustard, which also activates this compound in our cooked cruciferous plants.

Too bitter for you or your kids? Try adding a little maple syrup or date paste. Too hard after roasting them? A good idea is to blanch or steam them first, so they get cooked in the inside before you roast them.

Try our personalized nutrition calculator below to see just how much nutrition you and your family can get from eating Brussels sprouts.