Broccoli Protects Your Arteries

The health benefits of broccoli along with the easy availability of this super vegetable make it one of our most popular vegetables. Eating broccoli may protect against heart disease, research suggests.

The health benefits of broccoli and related vegetables may come in part from a chemical known as sulforaphane, which appears to activate a specific heart-protecting protein, according to a study conducted by researchers from Imperial College London and published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

"We know that vegetables are clearly good for you, but surprisingly the molecular mechanisms of why they are good for you have remained unknown for many years," said researcher Paul Evans of the United Kingdom's National Heart and Lung Institute. "This study provides a possible explanation for how green vegetable consumption can promote a healthy heart." Read more