A sprout of prevention

A few ounces of broccoli sprouts a day might go a long way in reducing the risk of stomach cancer, according to research presented last week at the American Assn. for Cancer Research. That’s because broccoli sprouts contain abundant amounts of sulforaphane, a substance known to inhibit Helicobacter pylori -- the bug made famous by this year’s Nobel Prize in medicine.

The usually harmless bacterium finds a home in the stomachs of about half the world’s population and about 20% to 40% of Americans. But in some, it causes ulcers or stomach inflammation, which can lead to cancer.

“We’ve discovered that [broccoli sprouts] kill H. pylori in the test tube and in mice,” said Jed Fahey, a nutritional biochemist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and an author of the study. “This is confirmation that it works in people.”

In most cases, H. pylori can be wiped out with antibiotics, but now it seems it can also be kept at bay with the dietary addition of broccoli sprouts. For two months, 20 people ate 100 grams, or about 3.5 ounces, of broccoli sprouts daily, and researchers found a significant lowering of their levels of H. pylori. The sprouts contain a peak amount of sulforaphane at two to three days old.

But people have to keep eating them. Two months off the sprouts, and levels of H. pylori rebounded.