Broccoli may undo diabetes damage

[yarrow]

Broccoli may undo diabetes damage

 

Eating broccoli could reverse the damage caused by diabetes to heart blood vessels, research suggests.

 

A University of Warwick team believe the key is a compound found in the vegetable, called sulforaphane.

 

It encourages production of enzymes which protect the blood vessels, and a reduction in high levels of molecules which cause significant cell damage.

 

Brassica vegetables such as broccoli have previously been linked to a lower risk of heart attacks and strokes.

 

 

Our study suggests that compounds such as sulforaphane from broccoli may help counter processes linked to the development of vascular disease in diabetes

Professor Paul Thornalley

University of Warwick

 

People with diabetes are up to five times more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes; both are linked to damaged blood vessels.

 

The Warwick team, whose work is reported in the journal Diabetes, tested the effects of sulforaphane on blood vessel cells damaged by high glucose levels (hyperglycaemia), which are associated with diabetes.

 

They recorded a 73% reduction of molecules in the body called Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS).

 

Hyperglycaemia can cause levels of ROS to increase three-fold and such high levels can damage human cells.

 

The researchers also found that sulforaphane activated a protein in the body called nrf2, which protects cells and tissues from damage by activating protective antioxidant and detoxifying enzymes.

 

Countering vascular disease

 

Lead researcher Professor Paul Thornalley said: "Our study suggests that compounds such as sulforaphane from broccoli may help counter processes linked to the development of vascular disease in diabetes.

 

"In future, it will be important to test if eating a diet rich in brassica vegetables has health benefits for diabetic patients. We expect that it will."

 

Dr Iain Frame, director of research at the charity Diabetes UK, stressed that research carried out on cells in the lab was a long way from the real life situation.

 

However, he said: "It is encouraging to see that Professor Thornalley and his team have identified a potentially important substance that may protect and repair blood vessels from the damaging effects of diabetes.

 

"It also may help add some scientific weight to the argument that eating broccoli is good for you."

 

 

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7541639.stm

 

Published: 2008/08/05 23:12:52 GMT

 

[Lady Yarrow]

That is really interesting, I'll have to reference this to a few of my friends.

[zzelle]

wow i did not know that thanks for sharing

[JCK88]

That is very cool to know and it makes me feel good cause I've been eating broccoli like crazy around here because it seems like it's one thing I can grow really well. I also froze a lot of the stuff for winter...

 

And..I'm recently diagnosed with diabetes although it is in good control right now due to a 23 pound weight loss...

 

 

[Snowmom]

 

That is very interesting, . If it would work that would be great. But, just how much would one have to eat??

 

I do like broccoli, but, it is something else that is going up in price, like everything else.

 

 

[HSmom]

Originally Posted By: JCK88

That is very cool to know and it makes me feel good cause I've been eating broccoli like crazy around here because it seems like it's one thing I can grow really well. I also froze a lot of the stuff for winter...

And..I'm recently diagnosed with diabetes although it is in good control right now due to a 23 pound weight loss...

Good for you on the weight loss and the diabetes control!!!!

[JCK88]

HSMom Thanks for the good words...more to go, LOL Still plugging away!

[Kevin B 123]

There might well be SOMETHING to this Broccoli thing !

 

I sprout broccoli several times a week, and eat it. I'm feeling much better. It's Good in Mac & Cheese, in a Beef broth, in/on chicken, on a salad, or just plan !

 

I also eat as much whole grains as I can, make wheat/rye/barley grass, to eat alone, and to make Ezekiel bread yeast breads.

 

Blood sugars are "acceptable" says my door-knob, ( Doctor L O L)

[Stephanie]

Kevin, how do you sprout your broccoli?

 

and congrats on the bsl's!

[Kevin B 123]

Stephanie,

 

 

 

I buy “Organic” seed at the local Whole Foods Co-Op, You can also purchase threw Amazon or wherever is cheapest for you.

 

1, Soak seed overnight

 

2, drain seeds

 

3, place in a tray *** ( can be a “Sprouting tray”– around 39.95)

 

4, cover tray,( out of the sun) to help encourage the sprouts to “reach for the sun”. THEN Put in the sun, I use a glass cover then

 

5, Once or twice a day, I rinse (spray with water out of a spray bottle) for up to three days

 

6, Harvest.............

 

 

**** My Sprouting tray is a covered 12" Pie dish, with a circle of “stay-put” shelve liner, ( some use this stuff under their dish drainer), and 2 circles of nylon screen mesh, I cut myself.

 

 

If you have a “Sprouting Tray” already, use that!

 

I sprout Beans In a 3 qt pickle jar ( one with out any pickles in it) LOL

Wheat grass ( soaked overnight first) in square Pint plastic containers, with holes I drilled, smaller that the grains, lined with screen, I stack in a whole container, and spray 3 times a day!

Barley goes in the Pie Tin-------- I “Malt My Barley, to later turn into flour!

 

I also found a “steamer trey” for a microwave, a 1' raised platform, with slots in it, which I cover with the screen mesh------ used for Alfalfa, as these seeds are TINY.

 

 

Some people eat roots, sprouts and what remains of the seed-hulls,

 

Others pick/rinse the seed-hulls away, and cut the roots off

 

[michelle]

Thanks for the info. My dh and kids have a high chance of getting diabetes. Its nice to know what to do to keep control of it if they get it.

 

Cool info on sprouting it kevin. Thanks. I didn't know you could do that.

[JCK88]

I have also been reading that green tea is good for Sjogren's Syndrome and diabetes and may actually prevent the onset of these diseases--which makes sense why I got them in my 50's and not my 40's like others in my family did....found this item at WebMD but if you go to google news and type in green tea, you'll find a host of recent stories about green tea and diabetes. A major study was just completed.

 

Black Tea, Green Tea Good for Diabetes

In Rats, Black and Green Tea Lower Blood Sugar, Prevent Cataracts

By Daniel J. DeNoon

WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

 

Both black tea and green tea are good for diabetes, a rat study shows. They also prevent diabetic animals from developing cataracts.

 

The findings appear in the May 4 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

 

"Black and green tea represent a potentially inexpensive, nontoxic, and, in fact, pleasurable [blood-sugar-lowering] agent," the researchers write. "Tea may be a simple, inexpensive means of preventing or retarding human diabetes and the ensuing complications."

 

In the study, the researchers gave green and black teas to diabetic rats for three months.

 

They found both kinds of tea inhibited diabetic cataracts. The teas also had a blood-sugar-lowering effect.

 

To get the same dose of tea given to the rats, a 143-pound person would have to drink 4.5 8-ounce cups of tea every day.

[Mother]

Here's a good thread on sprouting that might help.

 

http://www.mrssurvival.com/forums/ubbthrea...true#Post217926