An Underrated Green Vegetable That Can Reduce Your Risk Of Cancer Can Also Prevent Diabetes

While you're shopping this week, you might stumble across a curious vegetable with characteristics of both broccoli and kale. Indeed, its green florets and leaves may make you do a double-take and wonder if it's worth trying. But don't pass up the chance to work with this underrated veggie that's become a foodie favorite, especially if you like the idea of munching on more anticancer and sugar-regulating foods.

Commonly known as broccoli rabe (but also called rapini or broccoli raab), it's a cruciferous vegetable that, despite its appearance and name, is closely related to turnips and cauliflower. Additionally, broccoli rabe has a bitterness that's somewhat reminiscent of mustard greens. (Fun fact: You may get an immunity boost from bitter foods.)

Broccoli rabe contains high levels of some essential nutrients. A one-cup serving of broccoli rabe offers 131 micrograms of vitamin A, which may help mitigate problems associated with oxidative stress, including some cancers. For reference, the average adult needs about 700 to 900 micrograms of vitamin A daily depending on gender. But broccoli rabe isn't just known for its cancer-lowering potential; it may also help reduce your risk of diabetes.

Broccoli rabe also contains plenty of glucosinolates. These compounds are what give cruciferous veggies their strong, sometimes pungent flavor and odor. Broccoli rabe's glucosinolates and antioxidants have shown promise for fighting cancer. A 2022 review published in Frontiers in Nutrition specifically identified glucosinolates as responsible for giving cruciferous vegetables (including broccoli rabe) the ability to potentially lower the risk of some cancers. For example, glucosinolates seem to have a helpful impact on reducing the development of cancers within parts of the gastrointestinal system, the liver, and the colon.

Meanwhile, authors of a 2022 meta-analysis published in Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity examined vitamin A intake as an anticarcinogenic therapy. The researchers found that diagnoses of breast cancer (which happens to be the most common type of cancer worldwide) and ovarian cancer were reduced among populations of individuals who consumed significant amounts of vitamin A.

When it comes to foods you should be eating to reduce your high blood sugar levels, it may be wise to put broccoli rabe on your list. A 2024 trial published in Heart Lung and Circulation showed that when human subjects ate 300 grams of cruciferous vegetables daily for two weeks, they exhibited improved glucose processing abilities. Though this trial's experiments were performed on non-diabetic individuals, the results indicate that cruciferous vegetable intake may be a natural therapy for people who have diabetes.

Interestingly, glucosinolates may also be the pivotal factor when it comes to the way cruciferous vegetables affect blood sugar levels. According to a 2021 review in Frontiers in Pharmacology, vegetables that skewed toward being the most bitter (which describes broccoli rabe) appeared to improve glycemic control best.

If you're not a fan of bitter vegetables but want to bring broccoli rabe into your kitchen, look for recipes designed for a milder taste. Alternatively, you can blanch your broccoli rabe before you add it to your recipe; this can reduce its bitterness.