What Are the Confirmed Health Benefits of Broccolini

A hybrid of broccoli and a Chinese leaf vegetable called gai lan, broccolini (or baby broccoli) is sometimes called a superfood. What are the health benefits of broccolini that are confirmed by science? What vitamins and minerals does it contain? Is its purple variety better than the regular green one? 

Read on, and you will find the answers to all these and numerous other questions.

Nutritional Value

Baby broccoli is low in calories (35 kcal per 100 grams or 3.5 oz), and water makes up about 90% of its weight. A 2016 meta-analysis demonstrates that people who include in their diet noncaloric foods that contain vast quantities of water are more likely to achieve a decrease in body weight.

Among other benefits of this vegetable is that it is relatively (as for vegetables) rich in protein and contains almost no sugars and fat.

Vitamin and Dietary Mineral Content

Contrary to popular belief, there is no reliable information on the vitamin content of broccolini: neither the manufacturer nor food experts disclose any data that would confirm that this vegetable is indeed vitamin-rich.

As for dietary minerals, this hybrid is a good source of iron (important for supplying cells with oxygen) and contains modest quantities of potassium (required for blood pressure normalization) and calcium (essential for bone and teeth health). 

One of the often-neglected benefits of broccolini is its extremely low sodium content. Excessive quantities of sodium in the diet are known to lead to elevated blood pressure and even cause heart failure: if your doctors recommend that you limit your sodium consumption, this vegetable will be a very good choice.

Dietary Fiber

Dietary fiber helps your health in several ways. First, it cannot be digested and helps you feel full while providing very few calories: this can be important if you don’t want to gain pounds and/or do your best to lose weight. Second, when combined with water, dietary fiber adds mass and volume to your stool which helps to prevent constipation. Last but not least, dietary fiber is food that beneficial bacteria that live in your gut thrive on: include it in your diet to maintain your intestinal health.

As broccolini is very rich in both dietary fiber and water, it is an excellent choice if you want to slim down, forget about constipation, and take care of your gut.

High Antioxidant and Phenolic Content

While additional research is required, preliminary studies demonstrate that broccolini is rich in antioxidants that protect cells from free radicals and various phenolic compounds that can reduce the risk of several types of cancer. What’s more, cruciferous vegetables (to which this hybrid belongs) can help prevent the development of plaque blockages in arteries that hamper and even block blood flow and can lead to strokes and heart attacks. 

What’s more, just like broccoli, broccolini is believed to be rich in sulforaphane, a bioactive organosulfur compound. Sulforaphane (in animal and test tube studies) was shown to protect against cardiovascular disease, improve glucose intolerance, reduce fasting blood glucose, and even prevent cancer development. 

It needs to be mentioned, though, that the degree to which phenolic compounds and sulforaphane can actually improve human health is still not known. Then again, if you suffer from such conditions as diabetes or cardiovascular disease, baby broccoli will definitely not make them worse, and there is a good chance that it can potentially relieve your symptoms.

FAQ

Here you will find the answers to the most common questions about the health benefits of baby broccoli. 

Is Broccolini Better for You than Broccoli?

While botanically speaking, both vegetables are very closely related, there are still important differences in their nutritional values per 100 grams (3.5 oz):

• Broccoli contains almost as many calories (34 kcal) as broccolini (35 kcal)
• The hybrid is considerably richer in dietary fiber (4.7 grams) compared to broccoli (2.6 grams)
• Broccolini is only a slightly better source of proteins (3.53 grams) than broccoli (2.82 grams)
• Broccoli is an excellent source of vitamins C and K and contains sizable amounts of B vitamins. There is no reliable information on the vitamin content of broccolini
• The hybrid is a better source of dietary iron compared to broccoli (9.7% vs. 6% Daily Value, DV).
• The amounts of calcium in both plants are almost equal (5% DV)
• Broccoli contains slightly higher amounts of potassium (7% DV) compared to broccolini (5%)
• While broccoli contains about 2% DV of sodium, the hybrid has less than 1% DV of this mineral
• The phenolic content of broccolini is said to be lower than that of broccoli
• Broccolini is believed to contain more antioxidants compared to broccoli

All in all, the detailed compassion of health benefits of broccolini vs broccoli shows that to have a balanced diet you need to use both vegetables for your meals as none of them can be called an indisputable winner. Still, if you are more interested in the promotion of regular bowel movements, broccolini might be a better choice. If you want to get as many vitamins from food sources as possible, use broccoli.

Is Broccolini a Superfood?

These days almost any vegetable or fruit is called a superfood for one reason or another. While this hybrid is rich in dietary fiber, water, natural antioxidants, and bioactive compounds, it is not reliably known which vitamins it contains. What’s more, it looks like the actual mineral content of the hybrid is low. All things considered, while baby broccoli is not a superfood, it is an excellent choice for improving your overall gut health.

What Is the Most Nutritious Part of Broccolini?

Just like its close relative cauliflower, this plant has two distinctive parts: a stem and florets that are attached to it. In a 2015 study it was determined that the florets of baby broccoli show higher dietary fiber content than its stems. So, if you do not really like the stems, you can happily skip them.

What Does Broccolini Do for Your Body?

This small vegetable helps you improve your health in several ways:

• Because of its high water content, it helps you stay hydrated. What’s more, it also contains high quantities of dietary fiber, which in combination with water makes your stool heavier and bulkier and promotes regular bowel movements
• It is low in calories which can help you to stay slim or shed pounds
• It is loaded with antioxidants that protect cells and improve your overall health
• It is packed with bioactive compounds (including sulforaphane and polyphenols) that are believed to inhibit the growth of cancer cells, protect arteries from plaque blockages, and help improve symptoms of diabetes
• Baby broccoli is a good source of dietary iron, which is extremely important for delivering oxygen to the cells of the body. Still, this hybrid alone is not enough to replenish your iron supplies and treat iron-deficiency anemia. Use it in addition to such iron-rich foods as poultry, red meat, fish, chickpeas, beans, and, if needed, dietary supplements like this one:

Iron by Nature’s Bounty

• Convenient dosage: 65 mg per tablet
• 100 tablets
• No artificial colors and preservatives
• Dependable brand

Should I Eat It Raw or Cooked?

All parts of this vegetable are edible and have a very pleasant sweet taste. It is ideal for salads and can be eaten on its own. While you can also cook (boil, steam, sauté, or stir fry) broccolini, there is a plausible hypothesis that cooking can markedly reduce its phenolic content. So, to get as many health benefits of this hybrid as possible, eat it raw.

How Should I Store It?

You can store this vegetable in your fridge for about one week; while some food experts recommend placing it in an open plastic bag, others believe that it is best stored with stems submerged in water. Do not wash the florets before storage, as this can speed their spoilage up.

Does Purple Broccolini Offer More Health Benefits than Green One?

Purple baby broccoli was introduced to the market only recently and is still something of a novelty. This variety of the hybrid gets its distinctive purple color because of the high content of anthocyanins, biologically active compounds that are known to have antioxidant properties.

Still, if you want to get as many antioxidants as possible but are not ready to pay a somewhat higher price for the purple variety, you can choose other vegetables and fruits that are rich in anthocyanins. Raspberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, cherries, grapes, and red cabbage will be a very good choice.Now you know what are the health benefits of broccolini. Keep in mind, though, that no vegetable or fruit can be called a cure-all: it is important that you have a balanced diet, limit your calorie intake, and get enough physical exercise.