Eating raw or lightly cooked broccoli helps protect the heart against damage and maintain its healthy functioning, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Connecticut and published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Researchers fed an extract of steamed broccoli to a group of rats for one month, then compared those rats to others that had been fed a standard diet. They found that the rats that had been fed the steamed broccoli extract had better heart function than those who had not. In addition, when all the rats were deprived of oxygen, those who had been fed steamed broccoli extract suffered less damage to their hearts and those who had been fed the standard diet.

The researchers observed that when the rats ate the broccoli extract, their body increased its production of several antioxidant proteins. Antioxidants are chemicals that remove free radicals from the body.

While free radicals play important roles in the body and are produced through normal processes such as eating and breathing, excessive levels can cause cell damage that leads to heart disease, cancer and the effects of aging.