Ingredient Spotlight: Broccoli

As a kid, broccoli may have been a vegetable you went to great lengths to try and avoid. What kid wouldn’t be apprehensive about this stocky, tree-shaped vegetable? 

While it may be a bit divisive, this vegetable has been a staple in human diet around the world since the Roman empire. And for a good reason—broccoli is an excellent source of 10 essential vitamins and minerals that support a variety of healthy functions throughout the body.

History of Broccoli

Broccoli is a cultivated version of wild cabbage. Thousands of years ago, the Etruscans—

an ancient Italian civilization who lived in what is now Tuscany—began cultivating broccoli. Its English name, broccoli, is derived from the Italian word broccolo, which means “the flowering crest of a cabbage,” and the Latin brachium meaning “arm, branch, or shoot.”

By the mid-1700s, broccoli was introduced in England and was called “Italian asparagus.” It wasn’t until immigrants from southern Italy brought broccoli to the United States in the 1920s that it became a popular food in the west.

Broccoli is essentially a large, edible flower—similar to the artichoke. Because of the cultivation of broccoli, we now also have cauliflower, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, and brussels sprouts.

Broccoli Benefits

Broccoli is often categorized as a superfood because it is extremely nutrient dense, contains few calories, and has lots of fiber and potassium to help you feel full. At only 30 calories per cup, broccoli is a good source of vitamin C, iron, fiber, potassium, vitamin A, calcium, zinc, vitamin K1, magnesium, carotene, and vitamin B. Eating a diet rich in green vegetables, including broccoli, has been shown to support cognitive health, and a healthier body weight.

How to Add Broccoli to your Diet

Steamed, boiled, sauteed, or roasted as side dishes, chopped up in salads, and used as key components of casseroles, there are so many ways to enjoy the benefits of broccoli in your diet. But if you’ve got some picky eaters on your hands, there’s some good news—you can get the benefits of broccoli in two amazing Kyäni products!

Broccoli in Kyäni Products

Kyäni Sunrise®—Broccoli is one of the 22 superfoods found in Sunrise and helps maximize the benefits of our trio of green leafy vegetables—broccoli, kale, and spinach. Sunrise delivers the benefits of broccoli in a mouthwatering blend of wild blueberry, pomegranate, and acai berry that even the pickiest eaters will come to love.

Disclaimer: This information relies upon scientific research on certain ingredients in Kyäni products. None of the studies examined Kyäni products specifically, and there is not necessarily a relationship between the results of these studies and any Kyäni product. Neither the studies nor the statements and products referenced here have been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Kyäni products are not intended to, and do not, diagnose, treat, cure, prevent, or mitigate any disease or condition.