Broccoli, a remedy against many ailments such as arthritis and osteoarthritis, but now also a solution against air pollutants. In fact, a clinical study conducted in China has shown that broccoli helps detoxify us from the poisons we breathe in cities.
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerousBroccoli, a remedy against many ailments such as arthritis and osteoarthritis, but now also a solution against air pollutants. A clinical study conducted in China has indeed shown that broccoli helps detoxify from the poisons we breathe in cities.
La search involved 62 Chinese men and 229 women, with an average age of 53, residing in one of the country's most polluted regions, a rural farming community in Jiangsu Province, China. They had to consume one daily drink made from broccoli sprouts.
In all subjects were the high levels of benzene, a known human carcinogen, andacrolein, a lung irritant. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, working with colleagues from several US and Chinese institutions, have used the drink to provide volunteers with the sulforaphane, a plant compound already known to be capable of prevent cancer.
During the 12-week test, a control group took a drink made from sterilized water, pineapple and lime juice, while the drink for the treatment group contained a freeze-dried powder made from broccoli sprouts. During the study, urine and blood samples were taken to measure the fate of the air pollutants.
The research team found that among the participants who consumed the broccoli sprout drink, the excretion rate of the carcinogenic benzene increased by 61% from day one and throughout the 12-week period. In addition, the rate of acrolein excretion increased rapidly and sustainably by 23% during the 12-week trial. This was not noticed in the control group.
You can also fight pollution by eating healthy.
Here are our 10 recipes to enjoy broccoli at its best
Francesca Mancuso
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