Why is consuming cabbage raw or lightly cooked recommended for maximizing sulforaphane precursors?
Answer
The enzyme needed to convert glucosinolates into sulforaphane is sensitive to heat.
Cabbage contains sulfur-containing compounds called glucosinolates, which serve as precursors to the biologically active substance sulforaphane. The conversion process from glucosinolates into active sulforaphane requires a specific enzyme. This conversion enzyme is highly sensitive to heat, meaning that aggressive or prolonged cooking methods will degrade or deactivate the enzyme, severely limiting the body's ability to produce sulforaphane. Therefore, eating cabbage raw or incorporating only very light cooking preserves the integrity of this enzyme and maximizes the intake of these potentially cancer-fighting detoxification promoters.
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