The broccoli bonanza

Albert Broccoli was a producer of the James Bond movies, from "Dr. No" in 1962 to "License to Kill" in 1989 -- the 16th Bond film. He helped create one of the healthiest film franchises in Hollywood history -- full of tough heroics and sly sweetness. Just like broccoli! Because of its antioxidants and fiber, the cruciferous vegetable is powerful enough to help cut your risk for Type 2 diabetes and breast, pancreatic, bladder, lung, prostate and colon cancer, as well as improve your skin quality and cardiovascular system. And that is a pretty sweet result -- you could even say you're getting great value for your Moneypenny!

And now a new mouse study, published in Laboratory Investigation, shows that the nutrients and phytochemicals that broccoli contains can also fortify the lining of your small intestines. The researchers fed mice the equivalent of 3.5 cups of broccoli a day (that's what you would need to eat, but I bet you can mix it up with other cruciferous vegetable, such as cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, arugula, kale, cabbage, even wasabi). They then compared their gut health with mice that ate no broccoli. Turned out that the integrity of the broccoli eaters' intestinal lining was significantly improved, preventing leaky gut (bad stuff getting from your gut into your bloodstream) and improving absorption of nutrients. I hope this has shaken up your ideas about broccoli and stirred you to check out my "What to Eat When Cookbook" for some great hot, cold and liquid broccoli recipes.

Health pioneer Michael Roizen, M.D., is chief wellness officer emeritus at the Cleveland Clinic and author of four No. 1 New York Times bestsellers. His next book is "The Great Age Reboot: Cracking the Longevity Code for a Younger Tomorrow." Do you have a topic Dr. Mike should cover in a future column? If so, please email [email protected].

King Features Syndicate

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