What 5 Kilograms of Broccoli in a Pill Do to Blood Sugar Levels?

Doctors always tell us to eat more greens, but it turns out they could soon start prescribing broccoli. It was discovered that a powder that contains concentrated extract from broccoli could be extremely beneficial for blood sugar levels. Research showed that the extract lowered blood glucose levels in participants with chronic conditions by up to ten percent. The disease usually develops around middle age. Insulin is a hormone that controls the level of glucose in the blood, but when the body stops responding to it, the disease is developed. When insulin regulation is abnormal it leads to high blood glucose levels, which, in turn, raises the risk of kidney problems, blindness, and heart attacks. Patients usually take metformin to help control their blood sugar levels. But, around 15% of them can’t take this drug because of kidney damage risk. Dr. Elizabeth Robertson says the drug was only tested in a small number of patients and helped only a part of them. That’s why she believes more research is needed to prove that metformin can be used in the treatment of this chronic condition. Still, she recommends that people affected by it should continue with the prescribed treatment.

Incredible Greens

Broccoli sprouts contain sulforaphane, a chemical known to reduce blood sugar levels in rats with type 2 diabetes. New scientists in Sweden wondered if that could be true for people. So, they gave a concentrated dose of the chemical to 97 patients with the disease once a day for 3 months, or a placebo. Everyone, except for three people, continued taking the drug. People who didn’t take metformin could control their condition pretty well without it. As researchers say, the concentration of the chemical given was around a hundred times that found naturally in the green vegetable. In other words, it was the same as consuming 5kg of broccoli a day. The results showed that the participants who took the extract had their blood sugar levels lowered by ten percent more than those on the placebo. Also, the broccoli extract proved to be more effective in obese participants with poor blood glucose control.

Conclusion

Overall, researchers are very excited about broccoli extract and its effects on type 2 diabetes. They can’t wait to bring it to patients after seeing that it’s able to lower blood glucose up to 10% - a reduction which is enough to cut the risk of complications like kidney disease, vision problems. Further studies discovered that sulforaphane and metformin reduce blood glucose in different ways. Metformin increases insulin sensitivity, so cells take more excess glucose out of the bloodstream. On the other hand, the chemical suppresses liver enzymes which trigger the secretion of glucose, thus reducing blood glucose levels. This is why researchers believe the broccoli extract is not competitive to metformin, but complementary. However, the drug increases the risk of kidney complications in some people, so the extract might be a perfect substitute.

Researchers now seek approval for the powder, but it’ll probably take at least two years. Source New Scientist