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Cauliflower — The Neglected Vegetable
A Bite-Size Read for Your Health and Waistline
“My kids call it white broccoli,” he said. My client shared this as we were brainstorming veggies he probably hadn’t eaten in a while and could add in for some variety. So, what were his kids talking about? Cauliflower, of course! I think cauliflower was lame for a long time, but then it was everywhere as an alternative to grains and meat.
We have cauliflower rice, cauliflower mash (instead of potatoes), cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower steaks and buffalo cauliflower too. People often reach out to me about these cauliflower substitutes, and I remind them to read the ingredients on the package. Often there isn’t all that much cauliflower in there and, frankly, they qualify as highly processed foods (read last week’s article for more on these). But what about cauliflower itself?
In 1 cup of raw cauliflower, we get: 27 calories, 0.3g of fat, 3g of protein, 4.4g of carbs, of which there are 2g of fiber. If you’re a long-time reader of my articles, you know what I’m going to mention next — those 2g of fiber. Fiber helps us feel full, stay satisfied for longer, and helps to support our metabolic health. It also helps to feed our healthy gut bacteria, which supports both physical and mental health. Cauliflower is also 92% water by weight, so it helps with hydration as well. We are definitely supporting our health with the macronutrients here.
The micronutrient front (vitamins and minerals) isn’t bad either. With cauliflower, we get lots of vitamin C, K, B6, folate, pantothenic acid, and a bit of potassium, manganese, choline, magnesium, and phosphorus. Cauliflower also offers antioxidants, which help protect our cells from free radicals and inflammation, the root cause of illnesses and diseases.
Cauliflower is also a cruciferous vegetable, like broccoli, which means it has two kinds of antioxidants: glucosinolates and isothiocyanates. In normal people terms, they help slow the growth of cancer cells and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Choline, another nutrient in cauliflower, is an essential nutrient, meaning the body can’t produce it, we must consume it. In 1 cup of cauliflower, we get 44 milligrams! We need choline in our cell membranes for synthesizing DNA…
