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YouTubeWhat is special about cruciferous veggies? In recent years, a compound called sulforaphane has been studied extensively. Sulforaphane protects us from several diseases. See Why Cruciferous? Why Broccoli?
Can LOTS of sulforaphane be derived from broccoli sprouts? Yes. Dr Greger explains that 1 cup of broccoli sprouts has as much sulforaphane as 27 cups of broccoli! See this video.
How many days should we sprout broccoli seeds? Although we can keep sprouting broccoli seeds for 4 to 6 days, about 2 days seems optimal. See this video.
Can we boost sulforaphane from broccoli sprouts by 3.5x? See How To Increase Sulforaphane in Broccoli Sprouts by ∼ 3.5-Fold (3 mins, 2016) by Dr Rhonda Patrick. The technique is summarized in a section below.
How much broccoli is too much? 4 cups of broccoli sprouts a day is too much! See this video.
Organic broccoli seeds online: Broccoli Seeds for Sprouting. Another option is a mixture of seeds like broccoli, alfalfa, radish and so on: (Todd's Seeds) Broccoli Seeds (organic).
Articles by Dr Greger:
Videos by Dr Greger:
(2 mins) Transcript. What food has maximum antioxidant content per dollar? Broccoli sprouts! They cost around $20 per lb and yield about 75 cups, so broccoli sprouts are 25 cents per cup. Turns out that the sulforaphane content of each cup of broccoli sprouts equals 27 cups of actual broccoli!
How many days to sprout broccoli seeds? 5 days in the video above[ but Dr Greger updates the guideline to only 2 days in the video below ("Broccoli: Sprouts vs Supplements").
(2 mins) Transcript. Anti-carcinogenic effects of broccoli sprouts may be highest for broccoli seeds sprouted for 2 days. Supplements are not as effective. Sprouts are preferred. Accompanying article: How Do Broccoli Supplements Compare To Sprouts? (2015).
(2 mins) Transcript. Dr Greger explains a study in which volunteers were given an extract with as much sulforaphane as two dozen cups of broccoli. No adverse effects were found.
(2 mins) Transcript. On a daily basis, sulforophane found in 100 cups of broccoli or just 4 cups of broccoli sprouts, is too much! Now 4 cups of broccoli sprouts is not a large amount — we can indeed consume them if we set our mind to it. But let's limit ourselves to a cup or two per day.
(2 mins) Transcript. Dr Greger's summary: "Broccoli sprouts are likely safer and more nutritious than alfalfa sprouts."
The technique in Dr Rhonda Patrick's video below is based on this research paper: Heating decreases epithiospecifier protein activity and increases sulforaphane formation in broccoli by Nathan V Matusheski, John A Juvik and Elizabeth H Jeffery, Phytochemistry, 2004 May;65(9):1273-81.
The idea is to keep broccoli sprouts in 70C water for about 10 minutes. In the video, Dr Patrick has an interesting setup using a thermometer. However, a top YouTube comment offers a simpler method:
We should eat broccoli sprouts raw, just like we eat alfalfa sprouts and other sprouts. See Daily Cruciferous Intake: How To?
I love this video by "Cooking with Cuties". It showcases three kids merrily adding broccoli sprouts to their 'pita pocket sandwich' with hummus and veggies. If we train our children to adopt healthy habits from childhood, their taste buds get accustomed to consuming healthy foods like broccoli sprouts.
Dr Jed Fahey offers these ideas (a) mix in with smoothies, (b) add to mango juice, (b) add to pineapple juice with a hint of lime, (d) buy supplements (tablets) and mix in with favorite foods (this may be helpful for somebody with narrow and rigid food preferences.
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