It is widely known that prolonged cooking can degrade nutrients in broccoli, including sulforaphane, Johnson explained.
The study found that cooking inhibits another enzyme called myrosinase, which is essential for sulforaphane production.
So, longer, harsher cooking methods cause a greater reduction in sulforaphane levels.
Kseniya Ovchinnikova
Should This Change the Way You Eat Broccoli?
If raw broccoli sounds good to you, thats a perfectly good reason to eat it, Johnson said.
As with most antioxidants, you want to minimize heat time, she said.
The longer you cook the broccoli, the more antioxidants youll lose.
What This Means For You
Broccoli is packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
But, experts say that shouldnt stop you from eating broccoli however you most enjoy it.
2018;66(6):1509-1515. doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.7b05913
