BROCCOLI: Your parents were right.

That broccoli that you pushed to the corner of your plate as a child may have more health benefits than even they realized.

Researchers at Penn State believe a chemical in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli both “aids in maintaining a healthy balance in the gut flora and immune surveillance, and enhances host barrier function.”

The chemical compound, indole glucosinolates, break down into compounds like indolocarbazole that activate a receptor in the gut that “helps the body regulate its reaction to certain environmental contaminants, as well as triggers other responses to toxin exposure,” the university stated in a release.

This process could help prevent some cancers and gut-related diseases.

The experiment was done with mice, but researchers reported the rodents were given the equivalent of a human eating 3.5 cups of broccoli daily. They indicated a cup of Brussels sprouts could provide the same level of the chemical.

The university added, “Because people with certain digestive conditions, such as colitis, are often warned to avoid too much roughage in their diets, future research may include determining the best ways for people to consume the broccoli — or other vegetables with similar effects — to receive the same health benefits, without causing any other associated digestive problems.”

SNOWFALL: We’re still collecting guesses from readers on when the first snowfall will happen — and we’ll keep doing so until Thursday.

If you want to get in on it, send your predictions to by email to r.bogdan@bradfordera.com; by mail to ’Round the Square, 43 Main St., Bradford, PA 16701; or drop it off in person.

Predictions must include your name, so we can announce your victory, and phone number, so we can contact you.

Here’s what will pass as the first snowfall for our contest: the first day with at least a coating of white on the ground and on the trees in the upper elevations around the area and at least a coating on windshields in Bradford.