What Happens to Your Body When You Eat Cauliflower Regularly

You might call cauliflower the Taylor Swift of the veggie world. No longer relegated solely to veggie crudité plates, cauliflower has gained popularity, making itself into everything from tacos and Buffalo wings to steak and pizza crust.

The fact that it’s a vegetable makes cauliflower automatically good for you. Additionally, cauliflower is packed with nutrients that give it unique benefits, such as fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K and choline. These properties give you a good reason to eat it frequently or even daily. Read on to learn more about the benefits and nutrition of cauliflower.

Health Benefits of Cauliflower

Cauliflower is a cruciferous veggie, and its family members include Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cabbage. This group of vegetables in the Brassica family are well-known for their health benefits. But what are cauliflower’s exact benefits? Let’s take a closer look.

Packed with Fiber

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend adults consume at least 28 to 34 grams of fiber daily, depending on age and sex.1 However, many Americans don’t eat enough.2 The good news is that cauliflower can help increase your fiber intake. One cup of cauliflower contains about 2 grams of fiber.3

While fiber comes with numerous benefits, one of the biggies is creating a healthy gut microbiome, which is important for digestion, nutrition absorption and immune function, says Nichole Andrews, RDN, a Washington-based dietitian, cancer nutrition specialist and author of Sugar Does Not Feed Cancer. In fact, studies have shown that a low-fiber diet can alter your gut microbiome, increasing the risk of chronic health conditions like type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders.4

Might Lower Your Cancer Risk

While increasing consumer interest in plant-based foods is perhaps one of the reasons cauliflower has become more popular, another might be its potential cancer-fighting properties. Cauliflower contains compounds like sulforaphane and glucosinolates, which have been studied for their anti-cancer effects. “These compounds have been shown to support detoxification processes in the body, inhibit the growth of cancer cells and even induce apoptosis, or cell death, in cancer cells,” says Andrews. One study, for instance, suggests that sulforaphane can help prevent and treat certain types of cancer, like prostate, breast, colon, skin, urinary bladder and oral.5

May Improve Your Heart Health

Although more than half of American adults don’t know this, heart disease has been the leading cause of death in the U.S. for 100 years.6 That’s why it’s crucial to take every step you can to keep that heart healthy, including eating heart-healthy foods.

Good news on the cauliflower front: Thanks to its high fiber content and the same compounds that can help prevent cancer, cauliflower can give your heart a boost by lowering cholesterol levels, reducing inflammation and supporting overall heart health, says Andrews. For instance, a study on older women found that eating more vegetables, specifically cruciferous ones like cauliflower, may help prevent atherosclerosis, a leading cause of strokes and heart attacks.7

Boosts Your Digestive Health

Because of its prebiotic fiber content, cauliflower helps feed the beneficial bacteria in your gut. “Having a healthy gut microbiome is crucial for your overall well-being, not to mention reducing your colon cancer risk,” Andrews says. Fiber also promotes healthy digestion and helps you have regular bowel movements.

May Help Reduce Inflammation

If you have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you know firsthand what it feels like to have inflammation in your gut. Because it’s loaded with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, cauliflower can reduce that inflammation, Andrews says.

Cauliflower’s anti-inflammatory properties go beyond gut inflammation; it can help decrease systemic (chronic) inflammation throughout your body. Tame chronic inflammation can help reduce your risk of chronic health outcomes.