A Simple Food That Has Higher Vitamin C Than an Orange (w/ How to Cook It) [Health Series]

One of the food that has higher Vitamin C than Orange is Cauliflower. Yes, you read it right, Cauliflower.
While eating one medium sized orange gives you 70mg dose of Vitamin C, eating a small head of cauliflower gives you a 127.7 mg dose of vitamin C, plus 5 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein. [1] [2]

Cauliflower

Health Benefits of Cauliflower:

1. Nutritional

Cauliflower also contains vitamins B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine) and B9 (folic acid). It contains omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin K. It serves as a good source of proteins, phosphorus and potassium. Cauliflower is a very good sourceof vitamin C and manganese, which are both powerful antioxidants.

2. Antioxidation

Aside from these antioxidants above, cauliflower also contains carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, and phytonutrients that include kaempferol, ferulic acid, cinnamic acid and caffeic acid. With these antioxidants, you can be certain that eating cauliflower regularly will help protect you from free radical damage and reduce your risk for diseases caused by oxidative stress, such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

3. Detoxification

It contains glucosinolates and thiocyanates (including sulforaphane and isothiocyanate), which help to increase the liver’s ability to neutralise potentially toxic substances that could lead to cancer if left unattended. The presence of enzymes like glutathione transferase, glucuronosyl transferase and quinone reductase also help in the detoxifying process.

The detox support provided by cauliflower includes antioxidant nutrients to boost Phase 1 detoxification activities and sulfur-containing nutrients to boost Phase 2 activities.While the glucosinolate content of cauliflower is definitely significant from a health standpoint, cauliflower contains about one-fourth as much total glucosinolates as Brussels sprouts, about one-half as much as Savoy cabbage, about 60% as much as broccoli, and about 70% as much as kale.

4) Cancer Prevention 

There are dozens of studies linking cauliflower-containing diets to cancer prevention, particularly with respect to the following types of cancer: bladder cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and ovarian cancer. 

This connection between cauliflower and cancer prevention should not be surprising, since cauliflower provides special nutrient support for several body systems that are closely connected with cancer development as well as cancer prevention.

Several research on this flowery vegetable have revealed that it has compounds to resist cancer; it has the ability to eliminate cancer enzymes.

5) Anti-Inflammatory

Potentially, regular cauliflower consumption can help decrease the risk of inflammation-mediated diseases such as arthritis, obesity, diabetes mellitus, inflammatory bowel disease and ulcerative colitis. A cup of boiled cauliflower contains about 11 micrograms of vitamin K and 0.21 g omega-3 fatty acids. Because of the omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin K in cauliflower, it helps to prevent chronic inflammation that leads to conditions such as arthritis, chronic pain, and certain bowel conditions.

 In addition, one of the glucosinolates found in cauliflower–glucobrassicin–can be readily converted into an isothiocyanate molecule called ITC, or indole-3-carbinol. I3C is an anti-inflammatory compound that can actually operate at the genetic level, and by doing so, prevent the initiation of inflammatory responses at a very early stage.

6) Digestive Support

A cup of boiled cauliflower delivers about 3.35 g of dietary fiber, which helps clean your digestive system and gets rid of unnecessary substances. Additionally, a substance called glucoraphin present in cauliflower appears to have a protective effect on your stomach lining. With glucoraphin, your stomach is not prone to the bacterium helicobacter pylori, thereby reducing your risk for stomach ulcer and cancer.

7) Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular

By virtue of having antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, cauliflower consumption is protective against cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. For instance, in atherosclerosis, there is chronic inflammation of the blood vessel, and the deposition of lipids and white blood cells eventually leads to a decrease in their diameter.

This decrease in diameter leads to decreased blood flow to essential organs like the brain (which could lead to stroke), heart (which could lead to heart attack) and kidneys (which could lead to kidney failure). By decreasing chronic inflammation, cauliflower is able to maintain the patency of the blood vessels and keeps excellent blood flow to essential organs of the body.

Source: http://www.trueactivist.com/7-health-benefits-of-cauliflower-and-mashed-cauliflower-recipe/

The Healthiest Way To Cook Cauliflower ?

From many of the cooking methods people tried when cooking cauliflower, the favorite is Healthy Sauté. It has been believed that it provides the greatest flavor and is also a method that allows for concentrated nutrient retention.
(Learn How To Sauteing here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saut%C3%A9ing. It's pretty simple. )

Prep and Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
1 lb cauliflower
1/2 clover of onions or 1 pcs of egg
1 TBS of oil or even you can use water.

Dressing: (Optional)
Pepper or Black Pepper or Honey

Directions:

1. Cut cauliflower florets into quarters and let sit for 10 minutes to bring out their hidden health benefits (the cutted cauliflower will produce phenethyl isothiocyanate which is very good for our health).
2. If you use garlic --> Press or chop garlic and let sit for 10 minutes.*
3. Heat a stainless steel skillet on medium heat.
4. When the heat is enough, please add the cauliflower. Cook for no more than 5 minutes.
Transfer to a bowl. For more flavor, toss cauliflower with the remaining ingredients while it is still hot such as pepper/black pepper or even honey


Actually, there are many simple foods that has higher vitamin C than an orange. You may check that out in http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20745689,00.html


* It is important to crush the garlic and let it sit for 10 minutes. It is because the crushing garlic releases an enzyme, called alliinase, that causes the formation of allicin. Allicin then breaks down to form the beneficial and healthy organosulfur compounds that very useful for our body.

Hope This article is useful. The scheduled writing for next week (2nd Feb 2014) is about "An Interesting Chemistry's Point of View of Cookies"

Cheers,

Albert ^^

Reference:
[1] http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20745689_9,00.html
[2] http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/12-foods-vitamin-oranges/story?id=20729780#