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The April issue of the journal Cancer Prevention Research published the results of a trial conducted by scientists at Tokyo University of Science, the University of Tsukuba in Japan, and Johns Hopkins University which determined that the isothiocyanate sulforaphane, a compound that occurs in high amounts in broccoli and its sprouts, helps suppress infection by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), the bacteria responsible for stomach ulcers and many cases of stomach cancer. The trial is the first to demonstrate an effect for broccoli against H. pylori in humans.

Did you know that cutting the florets into smaller pieces and the stems into thin slices and letting them sit for 5 to 6 minutes before cooking will enhance their cancer protective properties? Cutting broccoli into smaller pieces breaks the cells and activates an enzyme called myrosinase. The myrosinase converts some of the sulfur-containing chemicals found in broccoli (call glucosinolates) into other sulfur containing chemicals (called isothiocyanates) which research has shown to contain cancer preventive properties not found in the glucosinolates . Studies have actually pinpointed specific mechanisms, like changes in cellular genetic processes, which are involved in increasing cancer protection.