by Greg Rowe
This photochemical is found to different degrees in various cruciferous vegetables, but is most concentrated in broccoli sprouts. With any of the brassica foods, the amount of S is greater when they are eaten raw or only lightly heated.
The list of preventive or therapeutic benefits in a search of the literature is too great to post all of them here in our Blog section, but S is known to help autism patients, to prevent or fight certain cancers, to mitigate skin ageing, and as a powerful antioxidant..
Let’s look at some citations from nutrition and health sites:
Dr. Axe in a 7/16/22 article wrote:
“What does sulforaphane do for the body? Studies show it can help fight cancer, diabetes, arthritis and other inflammatory conditions, brain and liver damage, and more. What Is Sulforaphane? Sulforaphane (SFN) is a phytochemical compound that’s naturally found in some vegetables, specifically those in the Brassica (or cruciferous) plant family.”
(https://draxe.com/nutrition/sulforaphane-benefits/)
Writing in Examine.com,
Sep 28, 2022 “Sulforaphane is an anti-cancer compound in cruciferous vegetables, most commonly credited to Broccoli. It appears to have general but potent antioxidant and possible anti-inflammatory actions, with the former similar to curcumin. Dosage Sulforaphane is most often used for Liver Health and Other.” Researched by : Kamal Patel, MPH, MBA
(https://examine.com/supplements/sulforaphane/)
On Sulforophane’s role in ageing and neurodegeneration, the following appeared in NCBI:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov› pmc › articles › PMC6885086
April 2, 2019 – “In the last several years, numerous molecules derived from plants and vegetables have been tested for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging properties. One of them is sulforaphane (SFN), an isothiocyanate present in cruciferous vegetables.”
Below is a nice video on this topic by Dr. Eric Berg:
Some quick thoughts on how to use S in one’s diet:
Tonight, with my organic chicken breasts marinated in apple cider vinegar and my own (mild) hot sauce and crushed garlic clove, I steamed young broccoli florets, such that the stems were still a bit crunchy and the whole green required some chewing, but was not tough. Over it, I used a light sprinkling of sea salt, squeezed some fresh Meyer lemon juice (a few times a year I can buy organic lemons, squeeze, use, and save some juice), extra virgin olive oils (one tbsp. (15ml) and some lemon pepper. I chopped the broccoli to 1/2-3/4” pieces on a cutting board when cool and added condiments. Just one thought on how to get sulforophane. When I can find broccoli sprouts, I like to half a ripe avocado, take a paring knife and cube the flesh, then mix in the sprouts with a few dried chives, some salt and coarse ground black pepper, but suit yourself!