New Promise for Diabetics in Broccoli

While there is not a cure for Type 2 diabetes, which affects more than 300 million people around the world, research has shown that a more natural approach to diet can help manage the symptoms. When considering disease, changing diet is one of the first things that can make a huge difference in improving health.

Eating Whole-ly

Many people might have diabetes or prediabetes and not even know it. It is important to keep watch on your health and make sure you are not at risk. That is why, as we all know, it is important to manage what we eat on diabetes. Healthcare experts recommend a diet high in chromium and adding cinnamon, dark chocolate, blueberries, fish, olive oil, cannellini beans, spinach, walnuts, and turmeric to your diet. But by far the most recommended food for diabetics is broccoli. You may have already heard that broccoli is good for people with diabetes, but new research has come out that it’s even better than experts thought.

Broccoli Works

New research from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden found that the sulforaphane found in broccoli can reduce the harmful effects of Type 2 in overweight adults. Broccoli had already been proven in past studies to reduce the risk of cancer – especially broccoli sprouts (3-4 day old broccoli plants). And since then studies have been done on sulforaphane’s effectiveness in treating autism, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

In the study, a potent concentrated extract of broccoli sprout reduced blood glucose levels and prevented glucose intolerance in obese adults with Type 2 diabetes, showing promise for its use in the future.

The sulforaphane compound is also found in kale, cauliflower, cabbage, and bok choy.

Research in Context

Using broccoli to treat diabetes will work better in the context of a whole-foods-based diet all around. The study is especially good news for those who are both overweight and whose diabetes is hard to manage with other methods of treatment. Sulforaphane can also protect against neuropathy, renal failure, and atherosclerosis, according to the authors of the study. And sulforaphane has fewer side effects than Metformin and other diabetes treatments.

“It has the potential to become an important complement to existing treatment options for Type 2 diabetes,” Anders Rosengren, senior author of the study, said. It should be seen as a complement to Metformin, or a possible alternative for those who can’t take Metformin due to kidney problems.

Recipe Ideas

With the new findings about broccoli sprout in mind, here are some ideas for introducing more broccoli into your diet:

Add broccoli sprouts to a sandwich instead of lettuce
Blend broccoli sprouts into a smoothie
Take a broccoli sprout extract pill (talk with your doctor first)
Make broccoli soup
Make a salad or cold noodle salad with broccoli sprouts
Make broccoli, kale, and Brussel sprouts slaw

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