New research has shown that some of our least favourite vegetables could be the most beneficial when it comes to preventing blood vessel disease. It has long been known that cruciferous veg (including the likes of broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage and cauliflower) can help protect heart health, but why this happens has now been shown to be, in large part, down to keeping our blood vessels healthy and elastic. In a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, those eating just half a cup or more of cruciferous vegetables a day were 46 per cent less likely to have build-ups of fatty calcium deposits on the inner walls of their blood vessels.