The Power of Broccoli Sprouts in Detoxifying Environmental Pollutants

Everyday, we are bombarded with environmental toxins- car exhaust, lead-wick/synthetic aroma candles/plug-in air fresheners, laundry detergents and dryer sheets, non-organic cleaning agents--the list goes on.  These man-made chemicals which are completely unnatural are not recognized by the body and unable to be properly broken down, resulting in toxic accumulation.  The effects that these environmental pollutants have on our health has yet to be fully known as not enough time has passed to see the long term effects- remember when asbestos used to be sold as fake snow for christmas?  It's important to rid your home of as many of these environmental pollutants as you can and detoxify your body before  you encounter serious health consequences.  

A diet of mostly whole, organically-grown foods is undoubtedly among the most effect ways to prevent disease and achieve optimal health, and sprouts may offer some of the highest levels of nutrition.

Recent research on "super foods" is finding that broccoli sprouts may help detox toxic pollutants.  As reported by Time Magazine:

"Broccoli sprouts specifically are a source of glucoraphanin, which creates sulforaphane when chewed or swallowed.  That compound accelerates the body's ability to detoxify from various pollutants..."

In China, a three-month long study among 300 Chinese men and woman living in one of themes polluted areas of China, a rural community in the Jiangsu Province, was performed where the test group drank half a cup of a beverage consisting of sterilized water, pineapple, and lime juice, with dissolved freeze-dried broccoli sprout powder ever day.  The control group drank the same drink without the powder.

After urine and blood tests were collected and analyzed, researchers found that the test group, who received the broccoli sprout powder, excreted far greater levels of two carcinogens.  Excretion of benzene increased 61 percent, and the rate of excretion of acrolein increased by 23 percent.

Fresh broccoli sprouts are FAR more potent that whole broccoli.  For example, tests have revealed that three-day old broccoli sprouts contained anywhere from 10-100 times the amount of glucoraphanin found in mature broccoli.  Glucoraphanin has also been shown to protect against cancer.  Other health-promoting compounds found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli sprouts (and mature broccoli) include:

• Glucosinolate glucoraphanin, which helps improve blood pressure and kidney function. It also boosts cell enzymes that protect against molecular damage from cancer-causing chemicals. 
• Sulforaphane, a metabolite of the glucosinolate glucoraphanin, has been shown to normalize DNA methylation — a crucial part of normal cell function that allows cells to “remember who they are and where they have been.” It’s also important for regulating gene expression, and this compound has been found to play a role in activating more than 200 different genes. Sulforaphane also has anti-diabetic and antimicrobial properties, and kills cancer stem cells, which slows tumor growth. 
• Isothiocyanate, a specific sulforaphane compound, has very strong cancer-protective benefits, sparking hundreds of beneficial gene changes. This compound activates some genes that fight cancer, and switch off other genes whose job it is to aid in tumor growth.

Incorporating broccoli sprouts into your diet through juicing or including them with salads and wraps is quick and easy as well as inexpensive- a large bag of them from my co-op cost $3.  They're delicious and add great texture to meals.  Have a healthy day! -Collin