Broccoli (Brassica oleracea) is a common vegetable eaten as food. Other varieties of Brassica oleracea include kale, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower.
Chemicals in broccoli might help prevent cancer and have antioxidant effects. Also, when broccoli is eaten with a starch, it slows down how quickly sugar from the starch goes into the blood, which might benefit people with diabetes.
People use broccoli for high cholesterol, fibromyalgia, preventing certain cancers, and many other purposes, but there is no good scientific evidence to support most of these uses.
Don't confuse broccoli with broccoli sprout, or with chemicals found in broccoli, including ascorbigen and indole-3-carbinol. These are not the same.
NatMed disclaims any responsibility related to medical consequences of using any medical product. Effort is made to ensure that the information contained in this monograph is accurate at the time it was published. Consumers and medical professionals who consult this monograph are cautioned that any medical or product related decision is the sole responsibility of the consumer and/or the health care professional. A legal License Agreement sets limitations on downloading, storing, or printing content from this Database. Except for any possible exceptions written into your License Agreement, no reproduction of this monograph or any content from this Database is permitted without written permission from the publisher. Unlawful to download, store, or distribute content from this site.
For the latest comprehensive data on this and every other natural medicine, health professionals should consult the Professional Version of NatMed. It is fully referenced and updated daily.
© Copyright 1995-2019. Therapeutic Research Center LLC, publishers of NatMed, Prescriber's Letter, and Pharmacist's Letter. All rights reserved.