I had a question sent to me recently.
This is what he asked:
I had a heart attack a couple of years ago. I bought your book, “How To Be A Healthy Vegetarian” 2nd edition and I’m on a vegetarian diet now. I know I am doing much better, but my doctor still wants me to take statin drugs. I worry about taking those. I wondered if there are some new updates for supporting my health on a daily basis that might help me avoid using statins?
Answer:
Great question!
There is new research and information coming out all the time regarding the best way to take care of our health.
Mel Werbach, M.D., author of the Textbook of Nutritional Medicine (Third Line Press, 1999), sees sulfur as a blind spot in nutrition and medicine. (1)
“Here is an essential nutrient that no one sees as being that,” says Ronald M. Lawrence, M.D., Ph.D. “We don’t learn anything about sulfur in medical school. Sulfur has been the most understudied and overlooked nutrient.” (2)
“Sulfur-based amino acids and sulfur are the “glue”, which not only forms the matrix of our bones and joints but all of the cellular interlinking, which is the true cellular matrix, not only of man but all living organisms, and even water has a matrix.” (3)
Sulfur compounds are found in egg yolks, as well as organically-grown onion, garlic, and cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels Sprouts, watercress, radish, and leeks. In addition to foods, sulfur-rich mineral water is another source.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to add sulfur-rich food to your diet is to add cruciferous sprouts, especially broccoli sprouts.
Sprouts are the ultimate superfood and are rich in vitamins, minerals, and natural enzymes. Sprouts can contain all of the nutritional value of the whole plant in one little sprout!
When seeds are sprouted, they show an increase in enzymes and certain essential amino acids, and also in B Vitamins. Dr. Paul Talalay of the American Cancer Society said that broccoli sprouts are better for you than full-grown broccoli. (4)
Broccoli sprouts contain more of the enzyme sulforaphane,
(a form of sulfur) which helps protect cells and prevents their genes from turning into cancer.(5) Broccoli sprouts are an exceptionally rich source of inducers of enzymes that protect against chemical carcinogens.
According to research, sulforaphane is a sulfur-containing food molecule that reverses aging, stops inflammation, kills cancer, protects the brain, and puts an end to cardiovascular disease.
While sulforaphane is found naturally in cruciferous vegetables, these vegetables must be prepared and eaten in the right way to maximize the bioavailability of sulforaphane. By this, I mean eating them as a raw sprout, without heating them. Broccoli sprouts have much more sulforaphane than ALL other cruciferous vegetables combined.
You know how I am always saying it’s important to detoxify and have clean cells. Well, sulforaphane can really help the body with detoxification. Sulforaphane has been shown in studies to detoxify pesticides that are in our food.(6)
Studies have also shown that sulforaphane can help us detoxify from the polluted air we are breathing. The broccoli sprouts help detoxify 61% of benzene, which is a carcinogen.(7)
The mice quickly became obese, with insulin resistance and very high cholesterol levels, and they developed atherosclerosis. (8)
What was most interesting about this study was that the mice that were given sulforaphane had their hunger hormone levels drop, and they lost weight. The insulin metabolism of the mice
became normalized, their blood pressure and cholesterol levels dropped, and their atherosclerosis was reversed.(9)
New research is showing that sulforaphane may ultimately be the best anti-diabetes nutrient. “Sulfur is necessary in the production of insulin, as well as other sulfur-based amino acids necessary for the metabolism of carbohydrates.” (10)
Researchers at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden enrolled 97 obese people with type 2 diabetes. They then randomized these people to either broccoli sprouts or a placebo.
After just 12 weeks, those people randomized to broccoli sprouts had blood sugar readings 10% lower than those randomized to a placebo. Probably the most positive part of this study is that the diabetics did not have any of the side effects that you would expect to see from a diabetes pharmaceutical drug. (11)
Dr. Stephanie Seneff’s research at MIT has shown her some important information concerning cholesterol. Many people worry about their cholesterol levels, but when you ingest sulfur-rich foods, or get sunshine without sunscreen, the cholesterol joins together with the sulfur. This naturally lowers the cholesterol and creates a marvelous healing combination.
While few people want to take a statin drug to reduce high cholesterol, one possible alternative could be broccoli sprouts. In one study, broccoli sprouts reduced LDL or bad cholesterol by 7%. (12)
If that isn’t enough to convince you to add some organic broccoli sprouts to your diet, another study found that sulforaphane is a powerful anti-inflammatory compound that helps reduce depression and anxiety. (13)
While there aren’t any good studies showing that sulforaphane treats depression and anxiety in humans, it certainly seems to help mice with their depression and anxiety. (14)
Growing your own sprouts is easy. Anyone can do it, and the sprouts are ready to harvest in four days to a week. All you need are organic, non-GMO seeds, clean water, and a sieve or sprouting bag or jar.
An easier way is to order organically grown, raw, non-GMO Broccoli Sprout Powder from the Indoor Organic Gardens Of Poughkeepsie. (Put “NANCY” in the discount code box and get a discount on your order.) They use non-chlorinated water to grow the sprouts/microgreens in organic soil and dry them at room temperature, and with filter air.
This is a marvelous, ethical company that hires people that find it difficult to find work, such as autistic people. They also donate food to elderly and children’s food programs. I have been to the facility and was extremely impressed with their work, their quality, and their product.
The broccoli powder can be added a few times a day to various meals such as smoothies, cereal, apple sauce, mashed potatoes, etc. It doesn’t have much taste, but it will add powerful nutrition to your food.
They also grow a lot of other types of organically grown sprouts that you can order and add to your salads, sandwiches, etc. They can overnight them to you, so they are super fresh.
I always stress that you should eat Organic, Non-GMO food for many reasons, the main reason is that chemical fertilizers and pesticides destroy the sulfur, minerals, probiotics, and other fragile nutrients in the soil. Sulfur is only present in fresh organically-grown foods.
In the Sulfur Study in 1999, the research found that “Finland, alarmed over the increasing disease rate of its population, took a hard look at chemical fertilizers and banned all of them, fearing the high levels of cadmium. They were not aware of the sulfur connection at the time. Since doing so, they have become a leading supplier of “Bio-Friendly” or completely organic foods in Europe. They have also seen their disease rates drop to one-tenth of the 1985 levels. In 1985, the U.S. was at the same marked disease level as Finland. Why are we not following suit and banning all chemical fertilizers? It appears that the epidemiology of those countries using chemical fertilizers have an increase in disease, while those that use organically-based fertilizing methods do not.”(15)
So, eat organic and simply add these delicious sprouts and foods to your diet and enjoy the amazing health benefits.
Source:
1, 2, 3,& 15 “The Sulfur Study”) was organized in 1999. By Patrick McGean, Director submitted by Dr. Thomas S Lee NMD, APH, https://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/the-sulfur-study
- Excerpt from “How To Be A Healthy Vegetarian,” 2nd edition. Page 106 by Nancy Addison
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC23369/ , Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1997 Sep 16; 94(19): 10367–10372. doi:10.1073/pnas.94.19.10367 PMCID: PMC23369PMID: 9294217, Medical Sciences
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20183075, J Environ Sci Health B. 2009 Sep;44(7):657-62. doi: 10.1080/03601230903163624. Evaluation of protective effects of sulforaphane on DNA damage caused by exposure to low levels of pesticide mixture using comet assay.
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24287881, Food Funct. 2014 Jan;5(1):35-41. doi: 10.1039/c3fo60277j., Sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprout extract attenuates nasal allergic response to diesel exhaust particles., Heber D1, Li Z, Garcia-Lloret M, Wong AM, Lee TY, Thames G, Krak M, Zhang Y, Nel A.
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875816/, J Nutr Biochem. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 Jun 1., Published in final edited form as:, J Nutr Biochem. 2016 Jun; 32: 73–84., Published online 2016 Mar 10. doi:10.1016/j.jnutbio.2016.01.009, PMCID: PMC4875816, NIHMSID: NIHMS767497, PMID: 27142739
- & 9. Sulforaphane improves dysregulated metabolic profile and inhibits leptin-induced VSMC proliferation: implications toward suppression of neointima formation after arterial injury in western diet-fed obese mice, Noha M. Shawky,a,b,c Prahalathan Pichavaram,a,b George S.G. Shehatou,c Ghada M. Suddek,c Nariman M. Gameil,c John Y. Jun,d,e and Lakshman Segara,b,e,f,* https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875816/
10 & 11. Sci Transl Med. 2017 Jun 14;9(394). pii: eaah4477. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aah4477., Sulforaphane reduces hepatic glucose production and improves glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes., Axelsson AS1, Tubbs E1, Mecham B2, Chacko S3, Nenonen HA1, Tang Y1, Fahey JW4, Derry JMJ5, Wollheim CB1,6, Wierup N1, Haymond MW3, Friend SH5, Mulder H1, Rosengren AH7,5,8., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28615356
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4692095/, Mol Nutr Food Res. 2015 May; 59(5): 918–926., Published online 2015 Apr 7. doi:10.1002/mnfr.201400863, PMCID: PMC4692095, PMID: 25851421, “Diet rich in high glucoraphanin broccoli reduces plasma LDL cholesterol: Evidence from randomised controlled trials” Charlotte N Armah,1 Christos Derdemezis,2 Maria H Traka,1 Jack R Dainty,1 Joanne F Doleman,1 Shikha Saha,1 Wing Leung,1 John F Potter,3 Julie A Lovegrove,2 and Richard F Mithen1
- Psychol Bull. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2014 May 1., Published in final edited form as:, Psychol Bull. 2014 May; 140(3): 774–815., Published online 2014 Jan 13. doi:10.1037/a0035302, PMCID: PMC4006295, NIHMSID: NIHMS561676, PMID: 24417575, From Stress to Inflammation and Major Depressive Disorder: A Social Signal Transduction Theory of Depression, George M. Slavich and Michael R. Irwin, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4006295/
- Behav Brain Res. 2016 Mar 15;3[01:55]-62. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.12.030. Epub 2015 Dec 22., Sulforaphane produces antidepressant- and anxiolytic-like effects in adult mice., Wu S1, Gao Q2, Zhao P3, Gao Y4, Xi Y5, Wang X5, Liang Y5, Shi H6, Ma Y7., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26721468
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Medical Disclaimer: Information provided in this podcast, blog, article, video is for informational purposes only. The information is a result of years of practice and experience by Nancy Addison CHC. However, this information is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional, or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging.
Do not use the information provided in this blog, audio podcast, article, video for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. Always speak with your physician or other healthcare professional before taking any medication or nutritional, herbal or homeopathic supplement, or using any treatment for a health problem. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your health care provider promptly. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking professional advice because of something you have read in this email.
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