Broccoli Nutrition Question

i just know the heart of the stem tastes better

that's enough nutritional info for me

Hi Shel,
Base on colour assessment alone, fleurettes are more potent in phytochemicals then the stem. From a plant physiology stand point, plants invest more functional chemicals in flowers then stems so again, vitamin content, phytochemicals, antioxydants, etc would be more concentrated in the fleurettes.
Cancer prevention chemicals beneficial for us humans, like indole, are found throughout the plant because in most cases these are microorganism and insect defense chemicals for the plant which are required everywhere.

Luc H

This may not always hold, but a good rule of thumb is: the more color the more vitamins. I don;t have anything but an intuitive sense that this must be so, but it would be borne out by luc's note on phytochemicals, and the fact that photosynthesis develops chlorophyl which i guess must be where the vitamins are. Is that right?

Hi Siduri,
Few plant colours are vitamins but as your intuition tells you it is in fact an indication of vitamin content. Most vitamins do not have colour. Riboflavin is the only one with a light greenish yellow. If you ever made cheese it explains the reason why the whey is greenish in colour. This is particularly true if you ever made ricotta cheese using the whey which basically takes out the milky whey proteins and you are left with whey water. That water is eerily greenish.

Beta-carotene the well known colour of carrots and butter (orange yellow), Broccoli has a lot of it, is technically not a vitamin. It must be digested for it to be converted to vitamin A. Lycopene, the red colour of tomatoes, is also a pre-cursor to vitamin A. This is why I mentioned phytochemicals which include non-vitamin antioxidants, plant chemicals and pigments.

So yes, plant colour and intensity is an indication of vitamin content. Other factors that assures high vitamin load is freshness, ripeness and absence of browning in fruits and veggies. Browning occurs mostly by oxidation so it is an indication antioxidants are low. Many common antioxidants are vitamins. Vitamin C is a good example. Add Vit C on a slice of apple and it won't brown.

Chlorophyll, the green colour of plants, does not convert to any vitamin but is a benefical plant pigment. Green coloured plants is usually an indication of high folic acid which is a very important vitamin that lacks in nutritionally poor foods like fast-foods. Folic acid is essential to cell multiplication like in the case of a pregnant woman. We should eat something green as much as possible everyday.

White is also a beneficial phytochemical plant pigment. Think potatoes, cauliflower, radishes, etc.

Luc H.

The general advice given locally here is to choose a nice colourful fresh combination of fruit/veg.

Would there be any basis in what is colourful to the eye attracts us because it is good for us?


I always try to have a colourful fruit bowl on the table, and a good balance of colours in meals - whether they be stir fries, casseroles, cut lunches, etc etc. It somehow seems more satisfying.

Hi Luc
thanks for the scientific backing. I forgot to mention i have another intuitive way of judging nutritional value of foods - the most obvious - TASTE!
Food that doesn;t taste of anything (those huge and tasteless strawberries, baseball tomatoes, bland lettuce) probably doesn;t have much of anything good for you in it.
I think the industries have gotten very clever with their chemistry to fool people into eating stuff that's not nutritious, but i can taste that kind of fakeness too - i'll be fooled for a little and then by the end of the dish, whatever it is, i can tell there's something fake. I've lived here for so long and there have been so few of these convenience foods around that i really can tell the difference now.

Yes DC Sunshine,
The fact we see in colour may have evolved to see particular colours like in the case of ripe fruits. There is a monkey that was discovered to be able to see only one specific shade of orange/red. That particular colour is the colour of a specific fruit when it is ripe. Before being ripe, it is midly toxic and non-nutritious. This monkey has been successful as a species for its evolved ability to see this particular colour. There is no doubt these ability are in us as well (to a certain extent). It also need to be passed down through learning.

Hi Siduri,
Valid point! yes food growers have indeed come up with confusing foods: brightly coloured yet low nutrition and no taste. Yes all is linked.
I call it the silicon implant food effect i.e. it is an exaggerated version of the real wholesome thing which plays into our instinctive attractiveness. Although you know it is not all real, it is hard to ignore and still attractive (I know it is a male's perspective explanation but I think the point is clear).
That baseball size red tomato sure looks good until you taste it.

Luc H.