Eating broccoli could help prevent heart attacks and strokes, research has revealed.
The superfood is rich in a chemical that boosts a natural defence mechanism that protects arteries from disease.
Scientists say they are closer than ever to understanding just why the vegetable, already thought to protect against cancer, is so good for us.
And they believe that broccoli and other brassicas, such as cabbage and Brussels sprouts, could actually slow the progression of existing disease. The research at Imperial College London, funded by the British Heart Foundation, discovered the effect of sulforaphane, which is also present in kale, cauliflower, bok choy and rocket.
Broccoli
Treatment with the compound switched on the protective effect of a protein called Nrf2 which reduces swelling in areas of arteries most prone to disease.
This cut the risk of atherosclerosis – the thickening of the artery walls which can lead to angina, heart attack and stroke.
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Scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) are launching a groundbreaking new project to investigate the benefits of broccoli in the fight against osteoarthritis.
Initial laboratory research at UEA has found that a compound in broccoli called sulforaphane blocks the enzymes that cause joint destruction in osteoarthritis the most common form of arthritis.
Broccoli has previously been associated with reduced cancer risk but this is the first major study into its effects on joint health.
With funding from both Arthritis Research UK and the Diet and Health Research Industry Club (DRINC), the £650,000 project will explore how sulforaphane may act to slow or prevent the development of osteoarthritis. It will prepare the way for the first patient trials and could lead to safe new ways of preventing and treating this painful disease.
Sulforaphane is a bioactive compound found in cruciferous vegetables, particularly broccoli. Eating broccoli leads to a high level of sulforaphane in the blood, but scientists don’t yet know if the sulforaphane gets into joints in sufficient amounts to be effective. This is one of the things that the UEA team hopes to discover.
Osteoarthritis is the leading cause of disability in the UK where it affects around six million people. It is a degenerative joint disease which gradually destroys the cartilage in the joints, particularly in the hands, feet, spine, hips and knees of older people. There is currently no effective treatment other than pain relief or joint replacement.
Broccoli has been hailed as a ‘superfood’ after several studies suggested it had anti-cancer properties.
Now scientists have identified a chemical in the vegetable which interact with genes involved in cancer development.
The chemical called sulforaphane seems to counteract a fault with the gene called PTEN which is involved in prostate cancer.
The gene normally stops cancer from developing but in certain cells it is missing and this is when the disease can begin. However sulforaphane seems to dampen the effect of these cells that are missing PTEN and prevent them from triggering cancer growth.
The study was conducted by a team at the Institute of Food Research at the Norwich Research Park, using prostate tissue from men and cancerous cells from mice.
The discovery could lead to new treatments for the disease which affects 36,000 men a year.
The findings are published in the journal BioMed Central, Molecular Cancer.
People who regularly put in overtime and work 10 or 11-hour days increase their heart disease risk by nearly two-thirds, research suggests.
The findings come from a study of 6,000 British civil servants, published online in the European Heart Journal.
After accounting for known heart risk factors such as smoking, doctors found those who worked three to four hours of overtime a day ran a 60% higher risk.
Experts said the findings highlighted the importance of work-life balance.
Overall, there were 369 cases where people suffered heart disease that caused death, had a heart attack or developed angina.
And the number of hours spent working overtime appeared to be strongly linked in many cases.