Broccoli: Sprouts vs. Supplements

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Interest continues to grow about targeting cancer stem cells with a dietary component of broccoli, and especially broccoli sprouts. Cancer stem cells are thought “responsible for initiating and maintaining cancer,” which I’ve talked about in the past.

There’s also been a number of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trials on the use of broccoli sprouts as a complementary treatment in diabetes, to reduce oxidative stress, reduce inflammation, and reduce insulin resistance and fasting blood sugars. In my video, Biggest Nutrition Bang for Your Buck, I describe how to grow your own—simply and quickly, in five days. New science suggests, though, that it’s even simpler and quicker than I described.

If you look at other sprouts, their antioxidant phytonutrients appear to peak around sprouting day five—up to tenfold higher than day two. But, the sulforaphane content in broccoli sprouts appears to peak at around 48 hours. So, “2-day-old sprouts” may be even better.

“For consumers who do not enjoy eating broccoli [or broccoli sprouts] but still want the benefits” of the broccoli phytonutrients, what about all the “different broccoli supplements…on the market”? Here, they tested BroccoMax, which boasts a half a pound of broccoli’s worth in every capsule. They gave people six a day, compared to a cup of broccoli sprouts. Here’s the spike in broccoli phytonutrients in the bloodstream of those eating sprouts, which would cost about 25 cents a day—compared to six capsules of the supplement, which would cost about two dollars. They conclude that the “bioavailability [of broccoli phytonutrients] is dramatically lower when subjects consume broccoli supplements compared [to the whole food].”

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Images thanks to David Carillet and Anton Starikov via 123RF