For example, 1/4 cup
of broccoli sprouts contain the same nutrient - content as 2 1/2 cups of mature broccoli!
For the study, 300 Chinese adults drank a beverage made
with broccoli sprouts every day for three months.
But after investing a few bucks for some basic equipment, you can become a kitchen farmer and grow your
own broccoli sprouts from organic seeds.
Studies have also shown that
consuming broccoli sprouts helps lower blood pressure, and can reduce cholesterol in as short as a week!
Keep in mind,
broccoli sprouts offer greater nutrient concentration, when compared to the mature broccoli plant.
While an extract could provide a more concentrated way to receive the benefits of broccoli, eating
broccoli sprouts more regularly is also beneficial to our health.
With very basic equipment, you can grow 15 - 16 pounds of
broccoli sprouts per pound of broccoli seeds.
They may be small in size but
broccoli sprouts pack a huge punch when it comes to their nutritional value.
I've made different types of sprouts on and off for years and had stopped making them for a while, then my doctor
recommended broccoli sprouts to help support my thyroid.
Researchers concluded that further clinical trials on the potential benefits
of broccoli sprouts for breast cancer prevention are warranted.
And, growing your
own broccoli sprouts from broccoli seeds yields cups of fresh produce for just pennies.
In a small preclinical trial, 10 healthy volunteers drank or swished fruit juice mixed with
broccoli sprout extract for several days.
Sulforaphane * 1, a phytochemical contained
in broccoli sprouts at relatively high concentrations, has been known to exert effects of cancer prevention by activating a transcription factor, Nrf2 (nuclear factor (erythroid - derived 2)- like 2), which regulates the balance of oxidation — reduction in the cell, and by enhancing anti-oxidation ability of the body and detoxication of chemical compounds taken into the body.
(Studies have shown that 5 - to 6 - day old
broccoli sprouts contain over 100 times more of this cancer - fighting phytochemical than mature plants).
Immature shoots of broccoli known
as broccoli sprouts offer anywhere from 10 to 100 times the amount of glucosinolates as the mature vegetable.
Dr. Bauman treated 10 healthy volunteers with fruit juice mixed with sulforaphane -
rich broccoli sprout extract.
For example, previous tests15, 16 have revealed that three - day
old broccoli sprouts consistently contain anywhere from 10 - 100 times the amount of glucoraphanin — a chemoprotective compound — found in mature broccoli.
In fact, one of the first things my thyroid doctor recommended after my Hashimoto's diagnosis was consuming raw
broccoli sprouts daily for the sulforaphane.
Broccoli sprouts also contain a high amount of special compounds (like sulforaphane) that help prevent disease and increase well - being by supporting the liver and protecting against cellular damage.
Also for the smoothies, I
add broccoli sprouts which add a key component of sulforaphane which helps the brain and prevents against diseases.
A 3 - month long study done on 300 Chinese individuals showed that the daily consumption of
broccoli sprouts increased urinary excretion of some harmful pollutants up to 61 % (3).
It suggests that you can increase the bio availability of
broccoli sprouts by 3.5 x by soaking in warm water.
Sprouts,
especially broccoli sprouts contain up to 100 times higher concentrations of glucoraphanin and sulforaphane than the mature plants.
The delayed excretion of metabolites, after
broccoli sprouts consumption, could be related to a saturation of the membrane transporters (such as P - glycoprotein) in the cells, as SFN is conjugated with GSH and cysteinylglycine in the cells and exported after protein binding, being available for metabolism and excretion (Hanlon, Coldham, Gielbert, Sauer, & Ioannides, 2009).
I can easily live without alfalfa sprouts, especially since I discovered
broccoli sprouts which taste even better.
When the researchers gave
concentrated broccoli sprout extracts to 97 human type 2 diabetes patients in a 12 - week randomized placebo - controlled trial, obese participants who entered the study with dysregulated disease demonstrated significantly decreased fasting blood glucose levels compared to controls.