DNA Protection from Broccoli

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM · March 9, 2012 · Volume 8

4.8/5 - (31 votes)

Eating broccoli appears to make DNA more resistant to damage.

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Transcript

The best way to study DNA repair is to study smokers, because they need a lot of it. A group of smokers, for a total of ten days, were asked to eat six times more broccoli than the average American consumes. In other words, a single stalk.

Compared to smokers not eating broccoli, those who did suffered about 30% less DNA damage over those ten days. Maybe it was because the broccoli boosted the detoxifying enzymes in their livers, and so the carcinogens never made it to their DNA?

Well, they tested for that. They actually took some DNA out of their bodies, put it in a test tube, and exposed it to a known DNA-damaging chemical. The DNA of broccoli-eaters suffered significantly less damage. The DNA of those eating broccoli appears intrinsically more resistant at a subcellular level.

“In conclusion, in the present study, the intake of broccoli seems protective, as far as DNA damage is concerned, in smokers who are exposed to oxidative stress.”

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.

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Sources

Acknowledgements

Images thanks to ali graney via flickr, Fir0002 via Wikimedia Commons, and Biomedical Beat.

Topics

The best way to study DNA repair is to study smokers, because they need a lot of it. A group of smokers, for a total of ten days, were asked to eat six times more broccoli than the average American consumes. In other words, a single stalk.

Compared to smokers not eating broccoli, those who did suffered about 30% less DNA damage over those ten days. Maybe it was because the broccoli boosted the detoxifying enzymes in their livers, and so the carcinogens never made it to their DNA?

Well, they tested for that. They actually took some DNA out of their bodies, put it in a test tube, and exposed it to a known DNA-damaging chemical. The DNA of broccoli-eaters suffered significantly less damage. The DNA of those eating broccoli appears intrinsically more resistant at a subcellular level.

“In conclusion, in the present study, the intake of broccoli seems protective, as far as DNA damage is concerned, in smokers who are exposed to oxidative stress.”

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Images thanks to ali graney via flickr, Fir0002 via Wikimedia Commons, and Biomedical Beat.

Doctor's Note

This discovery may help explain the findings I presented in Repairing DNA Damage. What about giving smokers kale? See Smoking Versus Kale Juice. And check out my other videos about DNA damage.

Also note that the sources for this video are all open access, so you can click on them in the Sources Cited section, above, and read them full-text for free.

For further context, also see my associated blog posts: Breast Cancer Stem Cells vs. Broccoli; Kiwi Fruit for Irritable Bowel Syndrome; Is Caffeinated Tea Really Dehydrating?; Prevent Breast Cancer by Any Greens Necessary; and Foods That May Block Cancer Formation.

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