WARD OFF HEART DISEASE WITH NEW BREED OF SUPER BROCCOLI

Professor Richard Mithen

A new breed of broccoli has been developed by a team of British scientists, that contains two to three times the normal amount of glucoraphanin, a nutrient believed to help ward off heart disease. Glucoraphanim breaks down fat in the body and signifcant amounts of this nutrient is only found in Broccoli! Richard Mithen, of the Institute of Food Research in Norwich, lead  the team of scientists who made the broccoli breakthrough, said, "Vegetables are a medicine cabinet already. When you eat this broccoli … you get a reduction in cholesterol in your blood stream."

A compound called sulfora­phane found in broccoli has been shown to block genetic glitches that trigger tumours. Sulforaphane is obtained when it breaks down the compound glucoraphanin in broccoli. But the human body may not get enough of these compounds just from eating normal broccoli once or twice a week. The new variety, developed in Norfolk, contains concentrated levels of glucoraphanin. It's called Beneforte Super Broccoli, and has been made available in California and Texas over the last year, but has recently been revealed in London as well. Slightly sweeter (due to less sulphur) and more nutritious version will be made available in USA this fall.

“It’s not genetically modified, it’s nothing to do with GM. “It’s just a normal breeding programme”, said Professor Richard Mithen.