Here’s something that caught my eye because it had to do with asthma. Apparently there is a compound that naturally occurs in broccoli and some other “cruciferous” veggies which may protect against the inflammation that causes asthma and other respiratory diseases.
The chemical, Sulforaphane, causes concentrations of antioxidant enzymes in the airway areas to increase and that may protect us from the free radicals which lead to the inflammation. The UCLA researchers who performed the study gave 65 people varying amounts of broccoli or alfalfa spouts (which don’t have Sulforaphane) and found the people who were given broccoli had significant increases in the antioxidant enzymes.
The research team says it is too early to say how much broccoli one needs to ingest to see the effect, but they recommend including it in any healthy diet.
You can see a press release on the research at this website:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-03/uoc--bmh030209.php
1 comment:
This is fantastic! I love broccoli and this gives me a great fact to tell those of my friends that hate broccoli. Sometimes food that doesn't taste THAT great really IS good for you...
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