Broccoli: Powerful New Treatment for Diabetes

You know that broccoli is a super veggie packed with nutrients. New research has now discovered another gift that broccoli has for you. It can help manage blood sugar in diabetics. . . .

This double-blind study included 97 people with type 2 diabetes. 94 of them were on the common diabetes drug, metformin. Nonetheless, some of their diabetes was not being managed successfully. One group of the diabetics was put on a placebo, while the other group took a powdered broccoli sprout extract that contained 150µmol of sulforaphane a day for 12 weeks.

Sulforaphane is an antioxidant found especially in broccoli sprouts, but it is also found in broccoli and other cruciferous. It is a powerful detoxifier of estrogen, making it an important anticancer nutrient. As this new study shows, though, it’s benefits extend beyond detoxification and cancer prevention: it also benefits diabetes.

At the end of the study, the people whose diabetes was not being well managed by the metformin who got the broccoli sprouts extract had a significantly greater reduction in fasting glucose levels than the ones who got the placebo. In the diabetics who were also obese, the broccoli sprout extract also led to significantly greater improvement in HbA1c than the placebo. HbA1c is the most important marker of long term diabetes and blood sugar control.

Science Translational Medicine 2017;9(394),eaah4477

For the latest research to keep your family healthy, get The Natural Path delivered to your inbox each month: Subscribe!

For much more on preventing and treating diabetes, see our book The Family Naturopathic Encyclopedia.

The Natural Path is intended for educational purposes only and is in no way intended for self-diagnosis or self-treatment. For health problems, consult a qualified health practitioner for a comprehensive program.