Broccoli scores another health benefit

UF Health Podcasts

Broccoli is the vegetable some of us love to hate. The first President Bush famously banned it from Air Force One. Kids make faces at it. Few dogs keep it on their list of acceptable table scraps.

Ice cream it is not.

We all might want to re-evaluate our broccoli angst. This power vegetable continues to prove it is one of the healthiest foods. Broccoli contains an abundance of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber. It is thought to reduce inflammation, support heart health and slow aging. Broccoli does everything but drive the kids to school.

Now scientists have discovered another potential benefit: preventing and treating a stroke.

Australian researchers say they’ve found a natural compound in the vegetable that can help prevent blood clots leading to strokes. Better still, the compound appears to enhance other clot-busting medications often given in a stroke’s aftermath.

One agent often given stroke patients is a blood-thinner called tissue plasminogen [plaz·mi·nuh·jn] activator, or tPA.

The compound found in broccoli sprouts, called sulforaphane [suhl·faw·ruh·fayn], triples tPA’s effectiveness at busting clots. And the compound didn’t have the side effect sometimes seen with tPA — brain bleeding.

This natural compound opens the door to potential medications that could one day benefit millions of people globally.

And to be fair to broccoli, many people love it. Its popularity has soared in the last 30 years. It does have its presidential fan club. Thomas Jefferson planted broccoli seeds at Monticello. And President Obama once called the veggie his favorite food.

Take that, carrots.