Broccoli Helps Strengthen Our Breathing with Antioxidants

Did you know that vegetables can help your breathing? Recently, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health researchers have found that broccoli can help alleviate some conditions affecting our lungs and our breathing. It does so through our body's natural antioxidants.

Most of us do not know that November is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Awareness month but this is a good time to learn about the just in time for its awareness month.

What exactly is this month all about and why is it so important? Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD are diseases that affect the lungs of more than 24 million Americans and are the 4th highest in the cause of death in the United States. These diseases include bronchitis and emphysema. They thicken the lung walls which makes it very difficult to breathe and many times requiring oxygen tanks and other respiratory treatments.

Healthy lungs have their own defense system that produces antioxidant enzymes which break down and destroy the toxins it comes in contact with. Smoke toxins that come from cigarettes, marijuana or other ways attack the lung's antioxidant defense system and allow toxins into the defenseless lungs and eventually killing healthy lung cells (up to 30% of the cells). This destruction continues until you can no longer breathe on your own and eventually die from it.

People afflicted with any type of COPD need to rebuild their lungs so they can start producing antioxidant enzymes once again and clear out all of the toxins infesting their lungs.

There are dozens of drugs advertised everywhere that claim to help combat COPD and they are usually quite expensive. Of course, drug manufacturers are in it for the money and they want their drugs to be purchased. They don't tell you about natural remedies that you can use to do the same thing and often times better than manufactured drugs. Many people overlook the importance of nutrition of their health and rely on expensive drugs to try to cure the ailments.

We all know that broccoli is healthy for us and is loaded with nutrients. It should come my no surprise that broccoli can also help our lungs and help combat COPD. Not only can broccoli help fight COPD in those afflicted with it, it can also help healthy people stay healthy and keep their lungs in perfect working order to protect themselves from getting COPD.

You are probably thinking to yourself, "How can broccoli really strengthen our lungs?" This is a good question and one I asked myself when I first heard this claim. Now that I know, it's really quite simple.

Researchers found that broccoli contains specific compounds, including glucoraphanin, gluconasturtiian, and glucobrassicin, that re-activate the antioxidant defense systems in those people whose lung have been weakened. Broccoli can cut lung cell death by a whopping 95%. Logically, this can also help people without COPD stay healthy and prevent them from being afflicted with COPD.

What exactly are antioxidants? They are molecules that reduce the oxidation of other molecules which produce free radicals that can lead to cell damage. Antioxidants prevent the reactions that cause oxidation, free radical production and ultimately cell damage. They really are a very important part of our health that cannot be overlooked.

Broccoli has many other health benefits besides our lungs. The compounds in broccoli help prevent blood vessels in people with diabetes and reduce their risk of heart disease. Broccoli also reduces the risk of prostate cancer and strengthens the brain in case of head injuries.

Besides jumpstarting our antioxidant production, broccoli also has detox abilities, lowers cholesterol, metabolizes our vitamin D to healthy levels, reduces inflammation and even decrease our allergies.

Broccoli is low in calories and loaded with nutrients. It is super high and Vitamin C, vitamin K and vitamin A, high in folate, fiber, manganese, tryptophan and potassium, good sources of vitamin B6, vitamin B2, phosphorus, magnesium, protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B5, iron and calcium and contains some vitamin B1, vitamin B3, zinc and Vitamin E.

Broccoli contains one of the highest levels of vitamin C of any vegetable. It also contains essential patriots, such as flavonoids (kaempferol and quercitin) and carotenoids (lutein, zeaxanthin and beta-carotene, which functioned as antioxidants).

Just a half a cup of broccoli per week can really improve our health in many ways, so try to eat broccoli regularly. A few cups per week would it hurt!

Sources: Dole Food Company, Wikipedia, whfoods.com