Cauliflower traces its ancestry to the wild cabbage, a plant thought to have originated in ancient Asia Minor, which resembled kale or collards more than the vegetable that we now know it to be.
The cauliflower went through many transformations and reappeared in the Mediterranean region, where it has been an important vegetable in Turkey and Italy since at least 600 B.C.
It gained popularity in France in the mid-16th century and was subsequently cultivated in Northern Europe and the British Isles. The United States, France, Italy, India, and China are countries that produce significant amounts of cauliflower.Cauliflower
Foods Recommendations
You'll want to include cauliflower as one of the cruciferous vegetables you eat on a regular basis if you want to receive the fantastic health benefits provided by the cruciferous vegetable family. At a minimum, include cruciferous vegetables as part of your diet 2-3 times per week, and make the serving size at least 1-1/2 cups. Even better from a health standpoint, enjoy cauliflower and other vegetables from the cruciferous vegetable group 4-5 times per week, and increase your serving size to 2 cups.As with all vegetables be sure not to overcook cauliflower. We suggest Healthy Sautéeing cauliflower rather than the more traditional methods of boiling or steaming, which makes them waterlogged, mushy and lose much of its flavor. Cut cauliflower florets into quarters and let sit for 5 minutes before cooking. For great tasting cauliflower add 1 tsp of turmeric when adding the cauliflower to the skillet.
This chart graphically details the %DV that a serving of Cauliflower provides for each of the nutrients of which it is a good, very good, or excellent source according to our Food Rating System. Additional information about the amount of these nutrients provided by Cauliflower can be found in the Food Rating System Chart. A link that takes you to the In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Cauliflower, featuring information over 80 nutrients, can be found under the Food Rating System Chart.
While cauliflower is not a well-studied cruciferous vegetable from a health standpoint, you will find several dozen 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 three body systems that are closely connected with cancer development as well as cancer prevention. These three systems are (1) the body's detox system, (2) its antioxidant system, and (3) its inflammatory/anti-inflammatory system. Chronic imbalances in any of these three systems can increase risk of cancer, and when imbalances in all three systems occur simultaneously, the risk of cancer increases significantly.
Detox Support Provided by Cauliflower
The detox support provided by cauliflower includes antioxidant nutrients to boost Phase 1 detoxification activities and sulfur-containing nutrients to boost Phase 2 activities. Cauliflower also contains phytonutrients called glucosinolates that can help activate detoxification enzymes and regulate their activity. Three glucosinolates that have been clearly identified in cauliflower are glucobrassicin, glucoraphanin, and gluconasturtiian. 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.If we fail to give our body's detox system adequate nutritional support, yet continue to expose ourselves to unwanted toxins through our lifestyle and our dietary choices, we can place our bodies at increased risk of toxin-related damage that can eventually increase our cells' risk of becoming cancerous. That's one of the reasons it's so important to bring cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables into our diet on a regular basis.
Cauliflower's Antioxidant Benefits
As an excellent source of vitamin C, and a very good source of manganese, cauliflower provides us with two core conventional antioxidants. But its antioxidant support extends far beyond the conventional nutrients into the realm of phytonutrients. Beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, caffeic acid, cinnamic acid, ferulic acid, quercetin, rutin, and kaempferol are among cauliflower's key antioxidant phytonutrients. This broad spectrum antioxidant support helps lower the risk of oxidative stress in our cells. Chronic oxidative stress - meaning chronic presence over overly reactive oxygen-containing molecules and cumulative damage to our cells by these molecules - is a risk factor for development of most cancer types. By providing us with such a great array of antioxidant nutrients, cauliflower helps lower our cancer risk by helping us avoid chronic and unwanted oxidative stress.Cauliflower's Anti-inflammatory Benefits
As an excellent source of vitamin K and a very good source of omega-3 fatty acids (in the form of alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA), cauliflower provides us with two hallmark anti-inflammatory nutrients. Vitamin K acts as a direct regulator of our inflammatory response, and ALA is the building block for several of the body's most widely-used families of anti-inflammatory messaging molecules. In addition to these two anti-inflammatory components, 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.Like chronic oxidative stress and chronic weakened detox ability, chronic unwanted inflammation can significantly increase our risk of cancers and other chronic diseases (especially cardiovascular diseases).
Cauliflower and Cardiovascular Support
Scientists have not always viewed cardiovascular problems as having a central inflammatory component, but the role of unwanted inflammation in creating problems for our blood vessels and circulation has become increasingly fundamental to an understanding of cardiovascular diseases. The anti-inflammatory support provided by cauliflower (including its vitamin K and omega-3 content) makes it a food also capable of providing cardiovascular benefits. Of particular interest is its glucoraphanin content. Glucoraphanin is a glucosinolate that can be converted into the isothiocyanate (ITC) sulforaphane. Not only does sulforaphane trigger anti-inflammatory activity in our cardiovascular system - it may also be able to help prevent and even possibly help reverse blood vessel damage.Cauliflower and Digestive Support
The fiber content of cauliflower - nearly 12 grams in every 100 calories - makes this cruciferous vegetable a great choice for digestive system support. You're going to get nearly half of the fiber Daily Value from 200 calories' worth of cauliflower. Yet the fiber content of cauliflower is only one of its digestive support mechanisms. Researchers have determined that the sulforaphane made from a glucosinolate in cauliflower (glucoraphanin) can help protect the lining of your stomach. Sulforaphane provides you with this health benefit by preventing bacterial overgrowth of Helicobacter pylori in your stomach or too much clinging by this bacterium to your stomach wall.Other Health Benefits from Cauliflower
The anti-inflammatory nature of glucosinolates/isothiocyanates and other nutrients found in cauliflower has been the basis for new research on inflammation-related health problems and the potential role of cauliflower in their prevention. While current studies are examining the benefits of cruciferous vegetables as a group rather than cauliflower in particular, promising research is underway that should shed light on the potential benefits of cauliflower in relationship to our risk of the following inflammation-related health problems: Crohn's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, insulin resistance, irritable bowel syndrome, metabolic syndrome, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes, and ulcerative colitis.vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and more.
Health Benefits of Cauliflower:
- Cauliflower just like the other cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, kale) contains a substance that can help prevent cancer.
- Cauliflower contains phytochemical, called indoles, which may stimulate enzymes that block cancer growth.
- Cauliflower containsglucosinolates andthiocyanates these substances help increase the liver's ability to neutralize a potentially toxic substance.
- Cauliflower is a blood and liver detoxifier.
- Cauliflower contains Sulforaphane. Sulforaphane is a substance that is formed when the cauliflower is chewed, this substance trigger the liver to produce enzymes that can remove cancer causing chemicals. Sulforaphane can also stop the spread of cancer cell, even in the later stages of their growth.
- Cauliflower with turmeric could be an effective therapy to prevent and also to inhibit the spread of established prostate cancer.
- Cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables contain indole-3-carbinol, a substance that can affect the metabolism of estrogen in the body and can prevent breast and ovarian cancer.
Introduction to Food Rating System Chart
In order to better help you identify foods that feature a high concentration of nutrients for the calories they contain, we created a Food Rating System. This system allows us to highlight the foods that are especially rich in particular nutrients. The following chart shows the nutrients for which this food is either an excellent, very good, or good source (below the chart you will find a table that explains these qualifications). If a nutrient is not listed in the chart, it does not necessarily mean that the food doesn't contain it. It simply means that the nutrient is not provided in a sufficient amount or concentration to meet our rating criteria. (To view this food's in-depth nutritional profile that includes values for dozens of nutrients - not just the ones rated as excellent, very good, or good - please use the link below the chart.) To read this chart accurately, you'll need to glance up in the top left corner where you will find the name of the food and the serving size we used to calculate the food's nutrient composition. This serving size will tell you how much of the food you need to eat to obtain the amount of nutrients found in the chart. Now, returning to the chart itself, you can look next to the nutrient name in order to find the nutrient amount it offers, the percent Daily Value (DV%) that this amount represents, the nutrient density that we calculated for this food and nutrient, and the rating we established in our rating system. For most of our nutrient ratings, we adopted the government standards for food labeling that are found in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's "Reference Values for Nutrition Labeling| Cauliflower, boiled 1.00 cup 124.00 grams 28.52 calories | ||||
| Nutrient | Amount | DV (%) | Nutrient Density | World's Healthiest Foods Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| vitamin C | 54.93 mg | 91.5 | 57.8 | excellent |
| vitamin K | 11.17 mcg | 14.0 | 8.8 | excellent |
| folate | 54.56 mcg | 13.6 | 8.6 | excellent |
| dietary fiber | 3.35 g | 13.4 | 8.5 | excellent |
| vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) | 0.21 mg | 10.5 | 6.6 | very good |
| tryptophan | 0.03 g | 9.4 | 5.9 | very good |
| omega 3 fatty acids | 0.21 g | 8.8 | 5.5 | very good |
| manganese | 0.17 mg | 8.5 | 5.4 | very good |
| vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) | 0.63 mg | 6.3 | 4.0 | very good |
| potassium | 176.08 mg | 5.0 | 3.2 | good |
| protein | 2.28 g | 4.6 | 2.9 | good |
| phosphorus | 39.68 mg | 4.0 | 2.5 | good |
| vitamin B2 (riboflavin) | 0.06 mg | 3.5 | 2.2 | good |
| vitamin B1 (thiamin) | 0.05 mg | 3.3 | 2.1 | good |
| magnesium | 11.16 mg | 2.8 | 1.8 | good |
| vitamin B3 (niacin) | 0.51 mg | 2.5 | 1.6 | good |
| World's Healthiest Foods Rating | Rule | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| excellent | DV>=75% | OR | Density>=7.6 | AND | DV>=10% |
| very good | DV>=50% | OR | Density>=3.4 | AND | DV>=5% |
| good | DV>=25% | OR | Density>=1.5 | AND | DV>=2.5% |
