by Kevin Burton
Looking for a source of quick energy and nutrition? You picked a great day for it. Step right up. It's Eat Brussels Sprouts day!
The day is celebrated Jan. 31 each year, according to nationaltoday.com.
"Brussels sprouts belong to the Gemmifera group of cabbages, which are grown for their edible buds," National Today writes. "Brussels sprouts were first found in the Northern Europe region during the 5th century. The first written reference to brussels sprouts dates to 1587 and during the 16th century they were extremely popular in the Southern Netherlands."
"In the late 18th century French settlers brought Brussels sprouts to Louisiana, marking the beginning of production of this crop (in the United States). The US now produces around 32,000 tons of brussels sprouts annually."
It's possible that once you moved out of your parents' house and started making your own dinner choices, Brussels sprouts have been omitted. They are gone but not forgotten.
"We kids feared many things in those days," recalled columnist Dave Barry, "werewolves, dentists, North Koreans, Sunday school, but they all paled in comparison with Brussels sprouts."
National Today also says today is "Hell Is Freezing Over Day." Not surprising that eating brussels sprouts and hell freezing over would take place on the same day.
So it's possible you have already nixed in the strongest of terms, the idea of serving them up for dinner today. If so, you will want to declare you will eat them "when pigs fly" rather than when hell freezes.
In addition to the yuck factor, there is science behind some people's aversion to Brussels sprouts.
"Would you believe there is actually a genetic reason why you and your family may love sprouts while your partner and in-laws hate the little green gaseous bombs?" writes Dan Lewis on thefactsite.com
"It's all down to a gene: TAS2R38 which controls whether we taste the chemical PTC. This is the chemical responsible for the taste of bitterness. Usually this hideous chemical isn't found in the human diet thankfully, but it does exist in sprouts and other such foods."
"After this gene was founded in the 1930's, the founder conducted an experiment to see if people possessed the gene," Lewis writes. "He could (with a great amount of success) identify those who had it or not simply on whether they were related, proving this is genetically affected."
But it's not just genetics leaving Brussels sprouts off many menus.
"As all good cooks know, boiling the sprout to within an inch of its life leaves it gray, sodden and generally unpleasant smell," Lewis writes, "but where does the smell come from? "
Simply put: it's sulfur. But more specifically, the smell is actually caused by the compound glucosinolate sinigrin which contains sulfur."
If you can somehow get past all that, and you cook them skillfully, the sprouts do have many benefits.
"These green superfoods come with a plethora of health benefits and can put you on the path to a healthier lifestyle," writes National Today.
"Consuming one cup of sprouts will actually give a whopping 195 percent of your daily recommendation of vitamin K and 125 percent of your vitamin C.," Lewis writes. "With a cup of cooked Brussels, it provides you with an impressive 11g of carbs and 4g of protein."
"If you choose the most-common method of cooking sprouts, steaming, this can actually have cholesterol-lowering properties. The steam causes the fiber parts of sprouts to stick to bile acids which means they can easily excrete these acids. This can actually lower levels of cholesterol," Lewis writes.
"According to a study, around 1 1/4 cups of sprouts can actually help protect DNA inside our white blood cells. It does this by blocking certain enzymes."
Brussels Sprouts have a very high energy content," Lewis writes. "In 1 cup, or around 90g of sprouts, there are a staggering 158 kJ of energy, which is around 44 watts per hour."
"In 2015, a collection of school children and scientists in London, U.K., managed to power a Christmas tree with the use of 1,000 sprouts which is the equivalent of 44 kilowatts per hour. The tree was lit up in Southbank," Lewis wrote.
And that, I hear you saying, is the highest and best use of Brussels sprouts! Here's to the lighting of Christmas trees! Here's to eating green beans!
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