By London Nutritionist Sylvia Hensher
Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, kale, turnips and cabbage are full of powerful disease-fighting compounds, one of which is sulforaphane.
Sulforaphane has been found to:
- Boost cell enzymes that protect against molecular damage from cancer-causing chemicals.
- Increase your liver’s ability to detoxify carcinogenic (cancer-causing) compounds and free radicals which damage cells. This in turn protects against cell mutations which can lead to cancer.
- Trigger the production of phase II enzymes- potent anti-cancer compounds involved in the second phase of the detoxification process.
- Help prevent oxidative stress.
- Your body constantly reacts with oxygen as you breathe and your cells produce energy. As a consequence of this activity, highly reactive molecules are produced known as free radicals which interact with other molecules within cells. While some level of oxidative stress is a normal result of your body processes, many factors such as pollution, alcohol, medicines and mental stress can cause an excess of free radicals in your body. This can cause oxidative damage/stress to proteins, membranes and genes and has been implicated in the body’s aging process and in diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s.
- Sulforaphane, however, seems to stimulate a variety of antioxidant defence pathways in your body that can actually fight oxidative stress
How Much Broccoli do I Need to Eat to reap the benefits?
The amount of nutrients in any vegetable are rarely set in stone. The quality of the soil, how they’re grown (organically or conventionally), how fresh they are, and how they’re cooked all play a role.
A team of researchers from Johns Hopkins University attempted to calculate how much broccoli you would have to eat in order to produce a significant degree of protection against cancer. They found that you would have to eat an average of about two pounds of broccoli a week in order to reduce, your risk of colon cancer by about 50% for example.
However, it turned out that this estimate also depended on the variety of broccoli since some types turned out to be “high-inducers” of certain enzymes that provide protective benefits, while others were “low-inducers.” When the researchers analyzed 22 varieties of fresh broccoli and seven brands of frozen, their enzyme-inducing abilities varied significantly.
So how can you eat enough broccoli to get the benefits?
Eat broccoli sprouts. Because sprouts are just beginning their growth process, they are nutrient dense and packed with high concentrations of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and more. According to the researchers at Johns Hopkins, just 5 grams (0.17 ounces) of broccoli sprouts contain concentrations of the compound glucoraphanin (a precursor to sulforaphane) equal to that found in 150 grams (5.2 ounces) of mature broccoli.
So you would need to eat 30 times the amount of mature broccoli to get the same nutritional benefits as one serving of broccoli sprouts!
Sprouting seeds and accompanying instructions for sprouting can be found in health food stores, as well as from Aconbury Sprouts (01981) 241336
Contact us now on 0207 724 4445 /07812 163 324 or email us at info@yournutritionalhealth.co.uk to find out how we can help you improve your nutrition and long-term health!
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