Broccoli Sprouts and sulforaphane - Cancer Preventer
Closeups below. A sample sprouting system: a tray that we divided into 7 slots for daily "planting" (sprinkle, cover, water!) Broccoli is on left, a different mix is next. Dirt, as used here, is not necessary or advisable. The sprouts used in studies were often only 3 days old! Water will work for that.
Broccoli sprouts are making the news for outstanding anti-cancer properties some years after broccoli spears became well-known for being part of the food family, cruciferous vegetables, that contained a tumor-inhibiting property.
If you don't like broccoli try mixing broccoli sprouts or spears with potatoes, or mix them in a puree or soup (a tip from French food companies). If you don't have to worry about weight that's a way to get down a food that is now a premium anti-cancer food. Buy broccoli seeds and keep a tray of dirt planted by the sink where you can grab some sprouts, rinse and eat! As sprouts go, these are the best-tasting.
A study conducted at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY just April, 2006 showed that a component abundant in broccoli sprouts (sulforaphane, an isothiocyanate) not only detoxifies carcinogens but potently inhibits the growth of human bladder carcinoma cells. This study found that the anti-cancer action was due almost entirely to the isothiocyanates, and that they were as potent as synthetic sulforaphane.
November 2005. We already knew that Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, contain anticarcinogens. Johns Hopkins University studied 200 adults living in a highly polluted area where everyone is at high risk for hepatocellular carcinoma, largely due to how the foods get polluted with the air chemicals. Drinking hot water infusion of 3-day-old broccoli sprouts dramatically galvanized the body's production of a carcinogen detoxifier.
Research at Johns Hopkins University shows that topical application of sulforaphane-containing broccoli sprout extracts is a promising strategy for protecting against skin tumor formation after exposure to UV radiation. Nov 2005
Click photo for a zoom of sprouts. Broccoli is on left, a different mix is next.
