A pilot study suggests that eating two and a half ounces of broccoli sprouts daily for two months helps protect against the stomach bug H. pylori that causes gastritis, ulcers and even stomach cancer.
Eating a daily dose of broccoli sprouts reduced by more than 40 percent the level of HpSA, a highly specific measure of the presence of components of H. pylori. “[W]e identified a food that, if eaten regularly, might potentially have an effect on the cause of a lot of gastric problems and perhaps even ultimately help prevent stomach cancer,” says Jed W. Fahey, paper author/nutritional biochemist at the Johns Hopkins Cancer Chemoprotection Center. Co-researcher Paul Talalay (pictured with sprouts) is a pioneer in the healing foods movement who is such a believer that he patented a variety of broccoli sprouts.
Their previous studies suggested sulforaphane, a naturally occurring biochemical, is a potent antibiotic. Broccoli sprouts have a much higher concentration of sulforaphane than mature heads. Sulforaphane appears to trigger cells in the body to produce enzymes that protect against oxygen radicals, DNA-damaging chemicals, and inflammation.
