Posted on 09/15/2010 10:02:00 AM PDT by decimon
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.
Prof Ian Clark, of UEA's School of Biological Sciences, who is leading the research said: "The UK has an aging population and developing new strategies for combating age-related diseases such as osteoarthritis is vital – to improve the quality of life for sufferers but also to reduce the economic burden on society."
As part of the three-year project, the UEA team will also investigate the effects of other dietary compounds on osteoarthritis, including diallyl disulphide which is found in high amounts in garlic and also appears to slow the destruction of cartilage in laboratory models.
Well that’s no good for me because I don’t eat broccoli.
I wanna see the e-mails!
Spears and sprouts ping.
I’ve always had a problem eating certain vegetables, broccoli being one. I’ve come to enjoy steamed broccoli. I simply fork a piece, and much like a chimp using a stick to dig for grubs, I then use the forked piece as a pseudo fork to scoop up mashed potatoes. Delicious. I can eat anything covered by potatoes, butter and sour cream.
Not eating brocolli results in not having to eat something that smells faintly of garbage.
Eating broccoli for osteoarthritis is like using high octane gasoline to cure your bad shocks on your car.
When it comes to broccoli, I’m with Bush 41.
Broccoli is my favorite vegetable. And practically the only one I eat....I don’t think spuds count. At restaurants I order it steamed. Broccoli is supposed to be the miracle veggie according to various sources. We’ll see...after eating a lot of it the past decade, I still can’t dunk a basketball.
I love broccoli,but it has done nothing to prevent arthritis in my hands,though just maybe it would have been worse if I wasn’t eating broccol at all.
I guess I’ll never know.I do know this though,It sucks getting older.
Well, then arthritis it is.
I’m still not going to eat that vile weed.
What a drag it is getting old.
Didn’t you know that everyone, EVERYONE who ate broccoli 300 years ago is, well, DEAD!?
I would no more trust the Brits research on arthritis as I would trust their climate data. Mythology is more the Brits specialty.
a groundbreaking new project to investigate the benefits of broccoli in the fight against osteoarthritisI'll suffer. Unless of course this results in some kind of pill with a broccoli extract that treats it...
he forsook all other foods except broccoli ala Apicius (with a mixture of cumin, coriander seeds, chopped onion, oil and sun-made wine)What a wuss, he was also eating cumin, coriander seeds, chopped onion, oil, and wine. ;')
Haaaa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha! [snort] [giggle]
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