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Plant Veggies
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FRUIT
Drink fruit juice and stay alive
Juicing oranges in the morning is a wonderful way to get natural sugar and nutrients into your body in the morning.
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Juicing oranges in the morning is a wonderful way to get natural sugar and nutrients into your body in the morning.
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Uses: Salads, Soups and Side Dishes |
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CAULIFLOWER IS ONE OF SEVERAL vegetables in the species Brassica oleracea, in the family Brassicaceae. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed. Its name is from Latin caulis (cabbage). For such a highly modified plant, cauliflower has a long history. They had been introduced to France from Genoa in the 16th century.
Cauliflower and broccoli are the same species and have very similar structures, though cauliflower replaces the green flower buds with white inflorescence meristem.
There are four major groups of cauliflower.
Italian. Diverse appearance, biennial and annual types. Includes white, Romanesco, various green, purple, brown and yellow cultivars. This type is the ancestral form from which the others were derived.
Northwest European biennial. Used in Europe for winter and early spring harvest. Developed in France in the 19th century. Includes the old cultivars Roscoff and Angers.
Northern European annuals. Used in Europe and North America for summer and fall harvest. Developed in Germany in the 18th century. Includes old cultivars Erfurt and Snowball.
Asian. Tropical cauliflower used in China and India. Developed in India during the 19th century from the now-abandoned Cornish type. Includes old varieties Early Patna and Early Benaras.
Allicin in Cauliflower that is known to promote a healthy heart and reduce the risk of strokes. Cauliflower may help decrease cholesterol, particularly LDL, or bad, cholesterol in two ways. First, it is a good source of fiber. On average, those who consume the most fiber have a healthier lipid profile. Second, IC3 (powerful cancer-fighting phytonutrient mentioned above) appears to reduce the liver cells' production of apolipoproteinB-100 (apoB) by over 50 percent. ApoB is the main transporter, or carrier, of LDL cholesterol to tissues. High levels of LDL are associated with atherosclerosis (deposit of plaque in artery walls which is a contributing factor to heart disease and stroke). Moreover, folate-rich vegetables, such as cauliflower, are considered heart-protective because folate helps to lower the amount of circulating homocysteine, an amino acid linked to cardiovascular disease, in the bloodstream.
Cancer Protection
Cauliflower contains two phytonutrients, sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol (I3C). Together, these nutrients (found in all other cruciferous vegetables, i.e., broccoli, cabbage, and brussels sprouts), help prevent cancer in two ways. They prevent enzymes from activating cancer-causing agents in the body, and they increase the body's production of enzymes that clean toxins and carcinogens out of the system before they can do damage to cells. Moreover, IC3 is a particularly powerful anti-tumor agent, which reduces levels of hormones that may stimulate cellular changes (and, ultimately, tumor growth) in cells of the breasts and prostate.
When these vegetables are cut, chewed or digested, a sulfur-containing compound called sinigrin is brought into contact with the enzyme myrosinase, resulting in the release of glucose and breakdown products, including highly reactive compounds called isothiocyanates. Isothiocyanates are not only very potent inducers of the liver's Phase II enzymes, which detoxify carcinogens, but research from the Institute for Food Research in the U.K. shows that one of these compounds, allyl isothicyanate, also inhibits mitosis (cell division) and stimulates apoptosis (programmed cell death) in human tumor cells.
The Immune System
Providing nutrients that strengthen the immune system, cauliflower is an excellent source of folate and vitamin C. Just three raw florets provides the eater 67 percent of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin C. This is more than what some citrus fruits contain. The same amount offers 9 percent of the DV for folate. A strong immune system is vital for being protected against everything from the common cold to heart disease. By eating foods rich in the antioxidant nutrients vitamins C, E, beta-carotene and selenium, you are arming yourself with what the research reports proclaim can help save your health.
References
- "What Is the Nutritional Value of Cauliflower?", http://www.livestrong.com /article/22026-nutritional-value-cauliflower/
- Kristie Leong MD, "The Amazing Health Benefits of Cauliflower", http://healthmad.com/nutrition/the-amazing-health-benefits-of-cauliflower-2/.
- "Cauliflower: Natural Weight-Loss Food", http://health.howstuffworks.com/ wellness/food-nutrition/natural-foods/natural-weight-loss-food-cauliflower-ga.htm.
- Polly, "Cauliflower Triple Action: Helps Strengthen Your Heart, Immune System & Fight Cancer", http://yourorganicgardeningblog.com/cauliflowers-triple-action-helps-strengthen-your-heart-immune-system-fight-cancer/.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cauliflower
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PurpleCauliflower.jpg
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Woolworths-cauliflower.jpg
- Melinda Myzak, "Chemoprevention of Colorectal Cancer", http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/ss04/cancer.html
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One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan
(Luke 17:15-16)
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Melinda Myzak
 
Melinda Myzak, a George B. Whatley Graduate Fellow at Linus Pauling Institute, reports:
Several recent studies have investigated the chemopreventive efficacy of broccoli consumption in humans and animals. Broccoli belongs to the Brassica genus, which also includes cauliflower, cabbage, and brussels sprouts. These vegetables contain compounds called glucosinolates that are enzymatically converted to isothiocyanates by a plant enzyme called myrosinase, which is released after chewing. Enzymes present in the intestinal tract of mammals can also catalyze this conversion. Broccoli contains high amounts of a glucosinolate called glucoraphanin, which is converted to the isothiocyanate, sulforaphane.
Sulforaphane has been shown to prevent chemically-induced intestinal and mammary tumor formation in animals. In cultured human cancer cells, sulforaphane can induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) and arrests the cell cycle, both of which are critically important in preventing tumor growth.
(Click Here for the Article)
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Romanesco broccoli, or Roman cauliflower, is an edible flower of the species Brassica oleracea, and a variant form of cauliflower.
Romanesco broccoli was first documented in Italy (as broccolo romanesco) in the sixteenth century. It is sometimes called broccoflower, but that name is also applied to green-curded cauliflower cultivars.
Also known as coral broccoli, Romanesco broccoli is rich in vitamin C, fiber, and carotenoids. The vegetable resembles a cauliflower, but is of a light green color and the inflorescence (the bud) has an approximate self-similar character, with the branched meristems making a logarithmic spiral. The broccoli's shape could be described as fractal; each bud is composed of a series of smaller buds, all arranged in yet another logarithmic spiral. This self-similar pattern continues at several smaller levels.
Although in Italy there are a number of recipes dedicated to Romanesco broccoli, in the rest of the world it is usually prepared like conventional broccoli. Like conventional broccoli, overcooking Romanesco will result in a texture some people find unpleasant. The texture is more tender than cauliflower, making it suited to raw use as crudités.
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Cauliflower
