Collard Greens and Cardiovascular Support

Researchers have looked at a variety of cardiovascular problems including heart attack, ischemic heart disease, and atherosclerosis and found preliminary evidence of an ability on the part of cruciferous vegetables to lower our risk of these health problems. Yet regardless of the specific cardiovascular problem, it is one particular type of cardiovascular benefit that has most interested researchers, and that benefit is the anti inflammatory nature of collard greens and their fellow cruciferous vegetables. Scientists have not always viewed cardiovascular problems as having a central inflammatory component, but the role of unwanted inflammation in creating problems for our blood vessels and circulation has become increasingly fundamental to an understanding of cardiovascular diseases. Of particular interest here has been the isothiocyanate (ITC) sulforaphane, which is made from glucoraphanin (a glucosinolate) found in collard greens. Not only does this ITC trigger anti inflammatory activity in our cardiovascular system, it may also be able to help prevent and even possibly help reverse blood vessel damage.