Cauliflower is a very healthy vegetable. It is packed with nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. It contains especially a lot of calcium. It is one of the traditional vegetables for a Dutch meal, but is also widely eaten in other countries. It originates from Asia and entered Europe via Turkey and Italy. This vegetable grows well in Northern Europe. NB! This article is written from the personal view of the author and may contain information that is not scientifically substantiated and/or in line with the general view.

Contents:

• Vitamins and minerals
• Calcium-containing vegetables
• Antioxidants in cauliflower
• Cauliflower, good for the heart
• Good for digestion
• Orange, white, purple and green cauliflower
• Good against all kinds of diseases
• Boil cauliflower briefly
• Eating tips for cauliflower

Vitamins and minerals

Cauliflower contains a lot of vitamin C. Just 125 grams of this vegetable is enough for the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of vitamin C. It also contains a relatively large amount of vitamin K, B6 and B11. It also contains some vitamins B1, B2 and B3. This white vegetable is a good supplier of minerals, especially potassium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus and magnesium. It contains the amino acid tryptophan in reasonable amounts.

Calcium-containing vegetables

Cauliflower contains a lot of calcium and contains substances that help the body absorb calcium. Cauliflower is therefore very good for your bones. Cauliflower is one of the vegetables with the highest percentage of calcium. Most calcium is in the green leaves. So don’t throw these away! Many people are unaware that the green leaves of cauliflower are edible.

Antioxidants in cauliflower

Cauliflower has vitamin C as an antioxidant. It also contains phytonutrients that act as antioxidants. These substances are important because they help prevent cancer. Antioxidants destroy free radicals that cause cell damage and DNA damage in the body. Phytonutrients found in cauliflower are: kryptoxanthin, caffeic acid, cinnamic acid, ferulic acid, rutin, quercetin and kaempferol.

Cauliflower, good for the heart

Scientists have recently discovered that inflammation at the cell level in the blood is partly responsible for people developing cardiovascular disease. Glucorafanin is a substance found in broccoli and cauliflower that can combat inflammation. Researchers propose the possibility that blood vessels calcified by oxidized cholesterol could be healed by Glucorafanin. Glucorafanin is a glucosinolate that is converted in the body to isothiocyanate (ITC) and sulforaphane. These are both anti-inflammatory compounds.

Good for digestion

Sulforaphane has more properties that are beneficial to the body. It helps prevent overly large bacterial colonies of the heliobacter pylori species. This bacterium that normally does not cause problems lives in the stomach acid. Yet an excessively large bacterial colony of Heliobacter pylori is held responsible by scientists for the development of stomach ulcers, gastric lining and even stomach cancer. Sulforaphane in cauliflower can help prevent this. This helps the stomach and digestion in general. Cauliflower contains a relatively high amount of fiber, which is very good for healthy digestion.

Orange, white, purple and green cauliflower

Cauliflower is a nice plant to have in the vegetable garden. There are all kinds of varieties, such as the purple cauliflower from Italy, the Spanish cauliflower, which is green and has all kinds of special geometric figures that are somewhat reminiscent of the Mandelbrot figures. Of course you can grow the famous white cauliflower yourself. Today there is an orange cauliflower for sale, although not everywhere in the Netherlands. You could order the seeds via the internet. The orange cauliflower is a new variety and was created in Canada in 1970. It contains 25 times as much vitamin A (beta-carotene) as white cauliflower. Orange cauliflower would be an ideal vegetable on a match day for the Dutch national team. Then there is a new variety, the broccoli cauliflower. This is a cross between broccoli and Spanish cauliflower.

Good against all kinds of diseases

There are more healthy properties of cauliflower. Because it promotes digestion, it helps against Crohn’s disease. In addition, it also helps against other metabolic diseases including chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, irritable bowel syndrome, metabolic syndrome, ulcerative colitis and diabetes type 2. It also works against insulin resistance, obesity and rheumatoid arthritis.

Boil cauliflower briefly

Cauliflower is typically a vegetable that is cooked for too long in Dutch cuisine. Fortunately, most people have already reduced their cooking times. Cauliflower only requires 5 minutes of cooking. In the past, it was cooked quietly for half an hour to an hour. It is precisely the healthy substances that are destroyed by long cooking.

Eating tips for cauliflower

You can also eat the green cauliflower leaves. Mix them with a salad. Cauliflower is traditionally served with a cheese sauce. Mix water, flour and young grated cheese in a pan, add salt and pepper and you have a delicious cheese sauce. Broccoli is the green sister of the cauliflower. It’s also fun to serve them together. This also applies to the pointed green Spanish cauliflower. It is also nice to add turmeric to cauliflower to make it yellow.

read more

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• The healing power of spinach
• Potato, a vegetable with medicinal properties
• The medicinal power of tomatoes