These versatile vegetables have recently taken centre stage in the media, particularly as a substitute for many traditionally carb-heavy foods. Cauliflower mash and cauliflower rice are extremely nutritious alternatives to potatoes and white rice, and the trend seems to show no sign of abating any time soon. You can even order pizza with a cauliflower crust!

Cauliflower is low in calories and fat and an excellent source of vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium; and contains vitamin B6, folate, and vitamin K.

A cup of cauliflower can provide 77% of your daily Vitamin C requirement,  20% of your daily vitamin K needs, and around 10% of your daily requirements for folate and Vitamin B.

The major bioactive compounds found in cruciferous vegetables are indole-3-carbinol  and DIM, broken down by digestion into 3,3′-diindolylmethane, most commonly collectively referred to as DIM. If you’ve heard of DIM before, you might also know that its immune-boosting and cancer-protective properties are found mainly in cruciferous vegetables. They offer many health benefits, including detoxing your body and balancing hormones, specifically excess estrogen. This is important for everyone, as excess estrogen can wreak havoc on the delicate endocrine balance of both men and women (2).

Preliminary studies have shown DIM may be beneficial to our health in several ways(3):

• Lowers toxins produced by your body’s natural metabolism
• It fights the effect of Xenoestrogens, any natural or synthetic compound introduced into the body that mimics the effects of estrogen or promotes its production.
• Boosts antioxidants
• Promotes weight loss
• Assists in memory function
• Improves mood
• Reduces PMS symptoms in women
• Supports cardiovascular health
• Promotes better muscle development
• Improves prostate health in men

Fantastic health benefits aside, cauliflower can be used in many inventive ways and is a low-cost way to boost your family’s intake of high-quality nutrients.

Honey

Humans have used honey for centuries as a nutritional product, traditional medicine, and a treatment for many conditions, ranging from wound healing to asthma and throat infections. Prized for its antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties, honey is still considered a superfood today, as modern science explores and confirms many of its health benefits (4). 

The humble honey bee produces this deliciously sweet, viscous liquid from the nectar of various flowers, pollinating up to 80% of the world's food crops in the process. It's a rich source of phenols and other antioxidants, which are potent protective and healing agents.

Pasteurized honey undergoes a filtering and heat-treatment process that makes it smooth and clear, but also destroys most of the enzymes, minerals, vitamins, and amino acids that make it so valuable as a health booster. 

Raw honey, on the other hand, is bottled straight from the hive. While raw/unprocessed honey might not look as appealing to some, as it contains pollen particles, wax, etc., it boasts an impressive nutritional content of 31 assorted vitamins and minerals, 22 amino acids, and bioactive plant compounds.

Honey is a rich source of antioxidants, which help protect your body from the harmful effects of free radicals. Some of the natural antioxidants in honey include:

• Flavonoids
• Polyphenols
• Phytochemicals
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Enzymes such as catalase and peroxidase
• Carotenoid derivatives

Studies have shown honey to be beneficial in managing various diseases and health conditions, as well as being a powerful immune system booster (4) (5).

Honey can replace refined sugar in most cooking and baking and is a firm favorite among the health-conscious who like a sweetened cup of coffee or tea. The health benefits of using honey speak for themselves. Perhaps it’s time to give up that sugar and switch to honey as a natural sweetener that offers real health benefits and tastes fantastic!

Thank you, honeybees!

I hope you enjoyed this installment in our plant-based recipe series and perhaps gained some info to help you make more mindful choices about food. 

Eating for better health should be a priority for all of us. There are many ways to improve our immunity and reduce the impact of everyday ailments by changing how we look at food. We should strive to include the highest quality fresh ingredients wherever we can. Don't be afraid to try new ways of cooking and limit sugar, refined carbohydrates, and additives. 

Hippocrates was famous for saying, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” This still holds true today.

Perhaps now more than ever, we need to take advantage of food's protective and healing power. Global levels of illness caused by poor nutrition are at an all-time high, and we’re more vulnerable than ever to new viruses and bacteria that pose a serious threat to our health.

Take charge of your health. It’s one of those things we only appreciate when it’s gone!