Do you eat enough vegetables every day? If you’re like most people, the answer is probably “no.” Whether you don’t have time to cook broccoli, or you simply don’t like its taste or texture, broccoli is nonetheless one of the healthiest foods out there. While inflammation doesn’t sound like a big deal, it’s an underlying cause of many other serious conditions. A little inflammation when you stub your toe is a perfectly normal reaction and helps heal any damage. Many phytonutrients are high in antioxidants, but the benefits of sulforaphane from broccoli sprouts show it has powerful abilities to:

May treat certain symptoms of autism. A study in 29 young men with autism found that daily doses of 50–150 µmol of sulforaphane for 18 weeks improved symptoms of autism like social interaction and verbal communication ( 20). But too much inflammation can affect the whole body, impairing circulation, digestion, cognition and many other necessary functions. It can cause a great deal of pain, and sometimes there’s no known cause for it. When considering the role of glucosinolates for musculoskeletal health, sulforaphane has been studied most extensively in animal models. Historically, the understanding of the effects of glucosinolates on skeletal muscle comes from trials of their application in animal production settings, with results indicating that although growth performance may be affected, muscle had an improved antioxidant status and fatty acid profile ( Drażbo et al., 2019; Skugor et al., 2019). When sulforaphane was provided to male Wistar rats for 3days prior to performing exhaustive exercise, sulforaphane served as an indirect antioxidant in skeletal muscle, as measured by decreased tissue total antioxidant capacity in the vastus lateralis muscle. It was concluded that sulforaphane plays a vital role in modulating the muscle redox environment; ultimately creating favorable effects on muscle ( Malaguti et al., 2009). It was reported that type 2 diabetic mice receiving sulforaphane injections over 4week had greater grip strength, lean mass, and gastrocnemius mass ( Wang M. et al., 2020). These diabetic mice also presented with improved skeletal muscle fiber organization after sulforaphane treatment. It was proposed that sulforaphane may downregulate the expression of inflammatory and apoptotic associated proteins. Sulforaphane was also suggested to play a role in regulating mRNA levels of anti-inflammatory and oxidative related genes. Collectively, it was concluded that sulforaphane treatment could be protective against skeletal muscle disease in mice with type 2 diabetes. Broccoli is an integral part of many meals and diets because it contains only 25 calories per 100 g. This makes broccoli one of the lowest-calorie foods. The vegetable can be eaten raw, but it can also be cooked, boiled or roasted – which makes many delicious recipes possible. Colon cancer incidence is heavily associated with dietary habits; diets rich in red meat are associated with an increased risk, whilst those high in fruit and vegetables are associated with a reduced risk ( Veettil et al., 2021). In human colon cancer cell lines, HCT116 and SW480, sulforaphane diminished cell growth in a dose-dependent way, and increased apoptosis induced by Lactobacillus through the TNF α pathway ( Yasuda et al., 2019). Sulforaphane treatment also led to suppression of key colorectal cancer stem cell markers, such as CD44 and CD133 in HCT116 and SW480 spheroids, facilitated by the TAp63 α/Lgr5/ β-catenin pathway ( Chen et al., 2020), suggesting that exposure to sulforaphane could lead to lowered cell proliferation activity. On the contrary, sulforaphane treatment (<10µM) led to increased cell proliferation and also lowered expression of key apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bax, but concentrations of greater than 10µM caused cell death in p53-wild-type HCT116 cells ( Wang et al., 2021). There are few animal or human studies that have assessed the role of sulforaphane on colon cancer. However, Suzuki and coworkers found that sulforaphane intake led to reduced development of microscopic aberrant crypt foci and macroscopic tumors in mice or patients with colon cancer ( Suzuki et al., 2019), suggesting that consumption of broccoli could prevent colon cancer progression. Conclusion and Future DirectionsOne of the key benefits of sulforaphane from broccoli sprouts is its antioxidant ability. [13] Antioxidants protect cells from oxidative stresses that can occur on a daily basis, such as positive stresses from exercise, sun exposure, digesting, or focusing hard on a task, and negative stresses like consumption of processed foods and pesticides, pollution, cleaning products, radiation, medications, alcohol consumption and exposure to industrial chemicals. When we exercise, oxidative stress naturally occurs, and consuming the correct nutrients to support your recovery is vital. It is a potent antioxidant which can act as an anti-inflammatory and can support the immune system. Heart disease remains the number-one killer in the world. [Online]. AHO. Last Updated: 2021. Available at: https://aho.org/news/heart-disease-remains-the-number-one-killer-in-the-world/ [Accessed 6 December 2022]. This product has been carefully formulated by our nutritionists to provide you with the health benefits of broccoli sprout whole food. The seeds (beans) contain more than 50% protein and are an excellent source of manganese, zinc, iron and dietary fibre. These seeds (beans) are rich in phytochromes which are powerful antioxidant substances that roam around the body neutralizing harmful toxins and free radicals.

Lozanovski VJ, Polychronidis G, Gross W, et al. Broccoli sprout supplementation in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer is difficult despite positive effects-results from the POUDER pilot study. Invest New Drugs. 2020;38(3):776-784. doi:10.1007/s10637-019-00826-z Zhang Z, Atwell LL, Farris PE, Ho E, Shannon J. Associations between cruciferous vegetable intake and selected biomarkers among women scheduled for breast biopsies. Public Health Nutr. 2016;19(7):1288-1295. doi:10.1017/S136898001500244X Alumkal JJ, Slottke R, Schwartzman J, et al. A phase II study of sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprout extracts in men with recurrent prostate cancer. Invest New Drugs. 2015;33(2):480-489. doi:10.1007/s10637-014-0189-zWe are not aware of any intolerances, but we cannot rule out individual intolerances. Please adhere to our The most characteristic feature of sulforaphane is its high chemical reactivity due to the electrophilicity of the central carbon of the isothiocyanate (—N From seed to harvest, broccoli can take anywhere from 60 to 150 days to grow, depending on environmental temperature and broccoli type. Those with type 2 diabetes can’t effectively transport sugar from their blood to their cells, making it difficult to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Several human intervention trials have also been performed. In a 4-week parallel, randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study including 81 human participants with type 2 diabetes, 10g/day broccoli sprout powder (225μmol sulforaphane daily) decreased fasting serum insulin and insulin resistance by 18.2 and 14.2%, respectively ( Bahadoran et al., 2012). Positive results were also seen in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study including 97 Scandinavian patients with type 2 diabetes. In this study, patients consumed broccoli sprout extract (150μmol sulforaphane/day) or a placebo over a 12-week period. The glucoraphanin-rich broccoli sprout extract improved both fasting glucose and HbA1c (7.38–7.04%) in obese patients with dysregulated diabetes (BMI >30kg/m 2; HbA1c > 50mmol/mol) ( Axelsson et al., 2017). The authors noted that this reduction in HbA1c was likely to reflect a clinically meaningful effect, as an HbA1c of 7% is the treatment goal of the American Diabetes Association ( Axelsson et al., 2017). In a recent 12-week randomized controlled parallel intervention trial, 92 patients with type 2 diabetes were randomized to one of three different diets: 500g/day bitter and strong-tasting root vegetables and cabbages, 500g/day mild and sweet-tasting root vegetables and cabbages, or 120g/day mild and sweet-tasting root vegetables and cabbages (normal diet) ( Thorup et al., 2021). Improvements in glycemic control were noted in both groups with increased vegetable intake; however, consumption of bitter and strong-tasting vegetables (including kale and cabbage) had the greatest improvements to fasting glucose (4-fold), total cholesterol (2-fold), and body fat mass (2-fold) ( Thorup et al., 2021). Hypertension