Evidence: High Possible Benefits: Very High Safety: Very High
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What are broccoli sprouts?
Broccoli sprouts are the sprouts of broccoli seeds. They contain the highest amount of glucoraphanin out of any food. In the body, glucoraphanin converts into sulforaphane. Sulforaphane is a promising chemical that is currently being studied for its anti-aging effects. Like most other vegetables, broccoli sprouts can reduce inflammation, boost antioxidant defenses, improve cholesterol levels, and more. This article is about the main benefits of broccoli sprouts, their potential side effects, the best time to take them, and more.
Possible benefits
All of the potential benefits mentioned below are dose-dependent. As with other vegetables, there is a sweet-spot dose that allows you to get most of the benefits without causing meaningful side effects or tolerance buildup in the body. We will discuss the best dosing protocol later in this article.
Major benefits
Anti-cancer effects – Sulforaphane and a few other compounds in cruciferous vegetables appear to have strong anti-cancer effects. Sulforaphane supplementation was shown to slow down cancer growth and possibly help reverse it. Broccoli sprouts can significantly lower cancer mortality for prostate, bladder, lung, and breast cancer. This benefit likely applies to other types of cancer as well but more research is needed to confirm this.
Antioxidant properties – This vegetable contains various antioxidants, such as sulforaphane, and can help reduce oxidative stress in the body.
Reduced inflammation – Like most other vegetables, broccoli sprouts can reduce chronic inflammation in most people.
Minor benefits
Detoxification – Broccoli sprouts were shown to increase benzene excretion by 61% in humans. This benefit is most notable for people exposed to high levels of benzene, such as smokers.
Improved immune health – This benefit is secondary to the vegetable’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Some people, especially those with autoimmune conditions, may experience a temporary worsening of their immune health after they eat or take this vegetable. That is generally nothing to worry about as it’s often just a sign of a hormetic response that helps adapt your body to the vegetable and other stressors.
Reduced unpleasant symptoms of autism – Broccoli sprouts were shown in human studies to improve behavior in people with autism.
Improved cognition in Schizophrenics – Sulforaphane can reduce cognitive impairment in people with Schizophrenia to some extent.
Lowered blood glucose – While more studies are needed to confirm this benefit, broccoli sprouts may improve blood sugar levels in some people, especially those with insulin resistance or diabetes.
High micronutrient content – The vegetable contains very high amounts of vitamins and minerals (such as vitamin C and potassium) per calorie. Some of these vitamins and minerals do not get absorbed very well when they come from vegetables because vegetables also contain a variety of antinutrients, such as oxalic acid. That is mainly a problem with zinc and iron but electrolytes and most vitamins should get absorbed just as fine as when they come from other foods. Unfortunately, if you take an extract instead of a whole vegetable, many of these micronutrients will get lost during extraction.
Improved cholesterol levels – Like many other vegetables, broccoli sprouts were shown in multiple studies to improve cholesterol levels by reducing LDL and increasing HDL cholesterol levels in the body. Sulforaphane was also shown to significantly lower LDL oxidization.
Lowered triglycerides – Supplementation may be somewhat beneficial, especially for people with high triglycerides.
Increased healthspan and lifespan – While the relationship between broccoli sprouts and healthspan or longevity hasn’t been studied directly, this vegetable has many mechanisms through which it might slow down aging and protect your body from various diseases.
Possible side effects
The side effects below are dose-dependent. The risk for them increases (often linearly but sometimes exponentially) as you increase the dose. Some of the side effects only apply to very high doses.
Iodine deficiency – Broccoli sprouts can deplete the body of iodine, which may cause a variety of thyroid health problems in people who are already deficient in iodine. However, this effect is not too common and shouldn’t be a concern unless you know you are deficient.
Initial adverse reaction – When you start taking or eating broccoli sprouts, things can get worse before they get better. This vegetable can temporarily worsen some aspects of your health and even make you sick after taking or eating it. That can be unpleasant, but it is usually a sign that the supplement is working and creating a hormetic response that allows the body to adapt and become more resilient in the long term. People with an autoimmune condition should be careful as the initial adverse reaction may be intense. If you have an autoimmune disease, start with a small dose or amount and gradually build your way up.
Allergic reaction – Some people are allergic to this vegetable and may experience an allergic reaction after they start taking it. Unlike the “initial adverse reaction,” allergic reactions typically don’t disappear until one stops taking or eating the vegetable.
Diarrhea – You can usually prevent diarrhea or stomach discomfort by taking this vegetable with a meal. Taking broccoli sprouts with food is better regardless because many of the bioactive compounds in the vegetable are fat-soluble.
Toxicity – Some bioactive compounds in broccoli sprouts have adaptogenic properties and act as mild stressors on the body. That is usually a great thing as it allows your body to adapt to specific forms of stress and become more resilient. However, stressing the body too much can be counter-productive and cause multiple side effects, including toxicity. While acute toxicity is extremely rare, taking or eating high amounts of this vegetable could lead to chronic toxicity and cause health problems over time. To prevent chronic toxicity or the buildup of tolerance, staying below 140 grams of a fresh vegetable or 60 mg of sulforaphane in a day is best unless you have a great reason to take more.
Contamination – If growing or storing conditions are not adequately controlled, broccoli sprouts can be contaminated with bacteria, molds, and other potentially harmful microorganisms. Many growers also use pesticides that can be unsafe. Choose the brand you get vegetables and vegetable supplements from wisely. For vegetable supplements, it is often best to use websites like Amazon, where thousands of users have reviewed and rated the products. You are less likely to buy something of lower quality there.
Who should not eat or take broccoli sprouts?
You should probably avoid broccoli sprouts if you:
experience a severe adverse reaction after taking or eating the vegetable (though a mild adverse reaction is usually a great thing as it is a sign that the adaptogenic molecules in the vegetable are working and causing a hormetic response that allows the body to adapt and become more resilient)
have an autoimmune condition that makes your immune system overreact to xenohormetic stressors (you can eat or take this vegetable in that case, but it’s best to start with low amounts)
Who will benefit the most?
You should consider taking the vegetable or adding it to your diet if you:
have cancer or are predisposed to cancer
have autism
are deficient in vitamin C, potassium, or other micronutrients the vegetable is rich in
wish to improve general health
are a smoker
have a high budget for supplements and are willing to experiment with a variety of them (assuming you don’t fall into any of the categories that should avoid this vegetable, broccoli sprouts appear safe and are unlikely to do more harm than good for most people)
What dose of broccoli sprouts should you take?
If you are deficient in potassium, vitamin C, or any other nutrient this vegetable provides high amounts of, the best dose is a dose that helps you cover the deficiency. Fixing a nutrient deficiency should be your primary concern in this case.
Because broccoli sprouts contain adaptogenic compounds, it acts as a mild hormetic stressor on the body, which allows your body to adapt and become more resilient to certain kinds of stressors in the long term. A higher dose of these adaptogens isn’t necessarily better because they may stress out the system too much.
The sweet-spot dose typically ranges anywhere between 100-140 grams of fresh broccoli sprouts. Each gram of broccoli sprouts contains about 0.425 mg of sulforaphane. If you purchase an extract standardized for sulforaphane, the sweet spot dose of sulforaphane is about 40-60 mg.
The higher end of this range usually provides slightly more benefits in the short term. If you plan to take or eat this vegetable regularly for a longer time (multiple months or years), the lower end is probably a better way to go.
You would develop tolerance to the xenohormetic molecules faster if you took or ate higher amounts. Additionally, very high doses can put too much pressure on your system and cause health problems if you take the supplement for a prolonged period.
While this vegetable could theoretically cause acute toxicity, you’d need to take an extremely high amount that would be way beyond what even the most potent supplements contain.
Like most other plants, it is best to cycle broccoli sprouts and take about two days off weekly to reset your tolerance to the adaptogenic and xenohormetic compounds in them. That will allow you to keep getting the benefits in the long term.
Best time to take broccoli sprouts
Some of the main bioactive compounds in this vegetable are fat-soluble, so you want to take it with food or a dietary source of fat.
Whether you take this vegetable in the morning or the evening does not make much difference. Both options are fine so feel free to experiment.
Interactions
Iodine Broccoli sprouts may deplete the body of iodine and cause health problems if you are already deficient in this mineral. You can prevent this side effect by taking iodine supplements or drinking water rich in this mineral.
Mustard seeds Mustard seeds contain myrosinase, an enzyme that can greatly improve the bioavailability of sulforaphane (or the conversion of glucoraphanin into sulforaphane).
Where to buy broccoli sprouts?
While you could buy the sprouts directly, it is much cheaper to buy broccoli seeds and make the sprouts yourself. It is easy and the whole process takes about a week.
In most countries, Amazon is the best option for ordering broccoli seeds and other tools you need to make broccoli sprouts. They offer some very affordable products backed by many positive reviews. Also, you can choose from a wide range of brands without having to search through other markets on the Internet.
FAQ
As with most other vegetables and vegetable supplements, it is best to cycle broccoli sprouts and take a break from them for about two days per week to reset your tolerance back to baseline. That will keep your body sensitive to the vegetable and allow you to keep getting the benefits in the long term.
Eating a fresh vegetable is almost always better as it contains many micronutrients and other beneficial compounds that get lost during extraction. On the other hand, supplements and dry powders don’t go bad nearly as fast as fresh vegetables, don’t need to be stored in perfect conditions, and are often cheaper.
This vegetable by itself should not worsen your sleep quality in any way. However, it’s best to take it with food, and you generally don’t want to eat any food right before bed as it could worsen your digestion and sleep quality.
Dry broccoli sprout powders and supplements can expire but not nearly as fast as fresh vegetables. They can also lose potency over time but very slowly if you store them well. Keep the supplement in a cold, dark, and dry place. It should remain just as potent for many months or even years there.
Yes. Broccoli sprouts contain adaptogenic and xenohormetic compounds that act as mild stressors on the body. That is usually a great thing as it allows your body to adapt to specific forms of stress and become more resilient. However, stressing the body too much can be counter-productive and cause multiple side effects, including toxicity. While acute toxicity is extremely rare, taking or eating very high amounts of this vegetable could lead to chronic toxicity and cause health problems over time. High doses can also make you develop tolerance much faster than lower doses, and they may be less effective at improving health in the long term.
While you could safely take higher doses, there is usually no point in eating more than 140 grams of a fresh vegetable or 60 mg of sulforaphane daily. This amount should give you most of the benefits without meaningful side effects. The only exception is if this vegetable is helping you fix a nutrient deficiency, in which case you may want to take more of it.
Unfortunately, there is not much information about the half-life of broccoli sprouts or sulforaphane in the body. However, most of the effects of this vegetable are cumulative, so they mostly happen in the long term rather than acutely. Therefore, the half-life of this vegetable isn’t very relevant in practice.
Broccoli sprouts are very low in calories and unlikely to impact your fast in any negative way.
References
Most of the information in this guide is based on scientific research that can be found and verified in the PubMed medical library. We highly encourage you to use the library to verify anything you read in this article. We excluded from consideration studies that are either confounded or have a high conflict of interest.
