Is Broccoli Anti-inflammatory?

You may have seen it all over the news yesterday. A compound found in broccoli could prevent or slow the progress of the most common form of arthritis, according to new research from Arthritis and Rheumatism.

Results from a laboratory study show that the broccoli compound sulforaphane slows down the destruction of cartilage in joints associated with painful and often debilitating osteoarthritis.

Here's the catch: the researchers found that mice fed a diet rich in the compound had significantly less cartilage damage and osteoarthritis than those that were not. The study was not done on human subjects. However, the researchers did examine human cartilage cells and cow cartilage tissue and found similar results.

Sulforaphane is released when eating cruciferous vegetables such as Brussels sprouts and cabbage, but particularly broccoli. Copious research has focused on sulforaphane mainly for its anti-cancer properties, but recently, it has shown to be anti-inflammatory as well.

The researchers discovered that sulforaphane blocks the enzymes that cause joint destruction by stopping a key molecule known to cause inflammation.

Until more research is done in humans, not much has changed as far as our recommendations. We suggest trying to get vegetables from the cruciferous family (which includes broccoli) as much as possible.