The definition : Broccoli (originated from Italian plural of broccolo, referring to the "flowering top of a cabbage") is a plant of the cabbage family Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferae). It possesses abundant arboreal, flower heads, usually green in color, arranged in a tree-like fashion on branches sprouting from a thick, edible, sturdy stalk. The mass flower heads is surrounded by lavish leaves.

The history : Broccoli evolved from a wild cabbage plant on the continent of Europe. Indications point to the vege being known of 2,000 years ago. Since the Roman Empire, broccoli has been considered a uniquely valuable food among Italians. Broccoli was first introduced to the United States by these immigrants, but had not become widely known until the 1920s. The first mention of the vege in the US was in 1806, when it was given the name green broccoli.

The production : Top there countries of broccoli production are Republic of China, India and the United States.

I stumbled upon nutritiondata.com that provides you everything you should know about what you eat. You can even download printable label image and choose food serving size to know the nutrition facts and info. The goodness of this vege is it's very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It's also a good source of Protein, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Riboflavin, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Selenium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese. In further, adding other foods with complementary amino acid profiles to this food may yield a more complete protein source and improve the quality of some types of restrictive diets.

Broccoli's health benefits is it [1] helps prevent heart disease [2] contributes to skin health [3] helps in construction and strengthening bones [4] helps in destroying cancer cells. I remembered liking this vege so much but forgot that it also helps me reducing the chicken-pox scars. Broccoli indeed contains 200% of daily reommended consumption of Vitamin C.

There are ways to consume broccoli, which is whether steamed or boiled. When cooking broccoli inside water, don't cover in order to maintain its color. I usually experience this.... I left the cooker for a while with its cover closed and when I opened it, the broccoli has turned into yellowish-green.

One of the articles referred mentioned that dozens of studies using natural compounds in broccoli do work to not only prevent but possibly treat cervical cancer as well. One particular compound in broccoli called Indole-3-Carbinol (I3C), has been studied and the results indicated that dietary I3C prevents the development of estrogen-enhanced cancers including breast, endometrial and cervical cancers.

Added to this info is, based on tests and studies, the compound in broccoli also offers tremendous protection against stomach cancer, reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, protection against lung cancer and lower the risk of developing lung cancer of about 36%.

Indole-3-Carbinol (I3C) is actually a Negative Regulator of Estrogen. The benefit of it is it lowers "bad" estrogen levels, kills cancer cells directly, inhibits the viruses associated with these cancers and strengthens the immune system. Well...so much of info might make my head spin sometimes...I may not need to know in details but this vege for sure brings goodness to us in preventing sickness.. Who said vege is bad for health? I think only kid does..

References:

[1] Anonymous (2009). Web. Broccoli Nutritional Values.

[2] Healing Daily (2002). Web. Broccoli.

[3] Knox, Kerri (2009). Web. The Cervical Cancer Vaccine May Not Work, But Broccoli Does.

[4] NutritionData.com (2009). Web. Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Broccoli, Raw.

[5] Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (2009). Web. Broccoli.