Many people are giving up dairy products for various reasons. From lifestyle choices to lactose intolerance, the need to give up milk and milk products may be unavoidable. Since milk is one of the richest and most traditional sources of calcium, dairy-free people worry about not getting enough calcium into their bodies. The good news is that certain plant-based foods, such as broccoli, prove to be excellent sources of calcium. You can consume these food items and keep your calcium consumption in check.
Getting calcium from broccoli –
Broccoli is a very healthy vegetable. Apart from being packed with a variety of minerals, a cup of cooked broccoli gives you more than 3000 mg of calcium, which is a very high and impressive figure. This helps you to meet your calcium requirements. The good news is that broccoli can be prepared in a variety of ways, so you can get the calcium you need in an effective way from eating broccoli on a regular basis.
However, you must note that the calcium you get from foods is not very easily absorbed by your body. There are various factors that make the body absorb the calcium you eat. For example, vitamin D is needed to make your body absorb the calcium you are eating. At times, when your body really struggles to absorb the calcium, your doctor may prescribe certain medicines and supplements to help you get the nutrition your body needs.
Other benefits of eating broccoli –
Apart from being a calcium-rich food, broccoli has many other health benefits too. Some of them are:
- Good for your eyes:
Broccoli has lutein and zeaxanthin, both of which have been proven to improve the eye health of people, especially by lowering the risk of age-related eye disorders. This is why people of all age groups should have broccoli regularly.
- Helps prevent cancer:
While no superfood can completely eliminate the risk of getting cancer, certain foods help your body to fight cancer-causing elements and thereby give you higher protection from the disease. Broccoli is one such food. It contains sulforaphane, which is a phytochemical that acts as a natural detoxin. If you have enough amounts of sulforaphane in your body, some harmful cancer-causing elements such as polluted smoke can be processed by your body in a safer way.
- Boosts your immunity:
Broccoli is a food that’s rich in sulphur. This is why it acts as a great immunity booster. When you have a cold or the flu, you are often asked to have broccoli soup, mainly because it gives your body an extra dose of sulphur to help it fight the flu-causing germs.
Conclusion:
It is crucial for you to have a blanched meal at all times. While some foods such as broccoli are packed with calcium and other nutrients, you cannot simply rely on a single food to stay healthy. Have all types of foods and give your body the nutrition it needs.
