[Ebook Việt Hoá] Healing houseplants (Michelle Polk) (Cây chữa bệnh trồng trong nhà): Chương 11 – Broccoli Sprouts (Mầm Bông Cải)

English

Brassica oleracea

Not necessarily known as a popular houseplant, broccoli sprouts are fun and easy to grow in the home for a unique experience—think chia pets, but healthier and not as creepy. While you won’t grow them for how they’ll look on your windowsill, broccoli sprouts are a purely utilitarian approach to indoor gardening, as they’ll spend most of their time inside a dark cabinet and then immediately be thrown into your belly.

Broccoli sprouts are some of the healthiest foods you can eat on earth. In fact, they provide so many health benefits, when reading up on them, you may feel like you’re in the middle of a late night QVC ad. From cancer prevention to fighting depression, diabetes, aging, heart disease, respiratory disease, gastric diseases, and even autism, broccoli sprouts may be the miracle food you’ve never heard of.

Broccoli sprouts are one hundred times higher in some cancer-fighting compounds than the actual mature vegetable (broccoli), and contain a magic ingredient—sulforaphane (SFN)—a powerful anticancer compound that helps fight and reduce the risk of developing cancer. SFN is one of the most well-researched chemicals on earth, and is becoming increasingly popular due to its incredible healing abilities. And while you could eat pounds and pounds of kale, mature broccoli, and Brussels sprouts to get the benefits of SFN, eating just a few ounces of broccoli sprouts offer the same benefits. In fact, broccoli sprouts have the highest concentration of SFN around.

But the healing benefits of broccoli sprouts don’t just end at SFN; they also contain other incredible compounds such as indole-3-carbinol, carotenoids, kaempferol, quercetin, and many vitamins, including vitamin C, vitamin K1, potassium, folate, iron, and magnesium.

Sprouts are easy to grow and fun to have around the kitchen—putting a handful every morning in your daily smoothie, placing it on top of your favorite salad, or adding a dash to garnish your favorite soup. Adding broccoli sprouts to your daily routine can completely transform your health, helping prevent an array of chronic disease, reduce body fat, and energize you for the day.

Health Benefits

ABOUT SULFORAPHANE (SFN)

A phytochemical found in cruciferous vegetables, SFN is the magic word these days, with bloggers, nutrition experts, doctors, and other nutrition gurus raving about its massive list of health benefits. This magical ingredient is known as an isothiocyanate, a sulfur-containing compound, and is activated while chewing your food, cutting your food, or “disrupting” the plant. To get more detailed, crushing or chewing the sprouts activates an enzyme called myrosinase, which converts compounds called glucosinolates into isothiocyanates. Still with me?

In short, make sure you don’t just swallow the sprouts whole; chew on those lucious greens with everything you’ve got, and swallow it down knowing you’re getting the most incredible health supplement on earth. Soak in that health! Its ability to boost the antioxidant capacity of cells, and its power to promote detoxification, is one of the main reasons researchers believe SFN to be so incredibly beneficial and potent.

It’s been shown that three-day-old sprouts can contain up to one hundred times the amount of the SFN precursor, glucoraphanin, than mature plants. And raw broccoli sprouts have the highest amount of glucoraphanin, and thus SFN, out there.

While supplement companies are competing to come up with the most bioavailable and potent SFN-containing supplement out there, nothing beats eating raw, organic broccoli sprouts. While the list of health benefits stemming from SFN is seemingly endless, here is my attempt to write about the most interesting benefits. Good luck to all of us.

PREVENTS AND COMBATS CANCER

One of the most researched and exciting possibilities of SFN is its potential to prevent and combat cancer. Out of the thousands of compounds found in plants that are able to prevent and kill cancer, SFN is by far one of the most promising. Not only has it been shown to kill cancer cells, but it has very little effect on healthy cells. SFN also has been shown to reduce DNA damage and mutation rates when cancer-causing chemicals bind to DNA, thus keeping us healthy from our toxic lives.

And SFN is indiscriminatory when it comes to cancer. It has been shown to kill colorectal cancer, oral squamous cell carcinoma, breast cancer cells, cervical cancer cells, and liver, prostate, and leukemia cells as well. Working from various angles, SFN is able to not only induce cell cancer death but prevent cancer genes from activating, eliminate DNA damage, and inhibit enzymes that can activate procarcinogens. This stuff is amazing.

What’s more, SFN has been shown to enhance the efficacy of cancer drugs, making them work better and reducing their toxicity on healthy cells.

COMBAT DIABETES

You read that right: just adding a daily serving of broccoli sprouts may improve outcomes of people with diabetes.55 SFN has been shown to increase HDL cholesterol while decreasing triglycerides, oxidative stress, C-reactive protein, and insulin. It’s also been shown to prevent diabetes-related complications such as neuropathy, tissue damage, heart damage, and more.

LOWERS CHOLESTEROL

Eating broccoli sprouts has been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol in humans. One study had participants eat one hundred grams of sprouts per day for one week, and their LDL cholesterol decreased while their HDL cholesterol increased.

DECREASES CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

If your family has a history of heart disease, it may be time to start eating your sprouts. SFN has been shown to prevent and combat cardiovascular disease. It’s also shown that a diet high in glucoraphanin decreases blood pressure, while protecting the heart against oxidative stress and reducing heart damage after an infarct.

The magic of SFN doesn’t stop there; it’s also been shown to protect against the hardening of arteries and to decrease inflammation in hardened arteries, while reducing blood clot formation. SFN decreases the amount of damaged tissue from a stroke and maintains neurological function after a stroke.

BOOSTS THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

Stop getting sick every flu season and start bingeing on broccoli sprouts. SFN increases the activity of natural killer cells, which enables your body to rid itself of those annoying bacterial infections.58 Even more, it’s been shown that SFN boosts immunity in aging mice.

ANTIVIRAL, ANTIBACTERIAL, AND ANTIFUNGAL

Eating broccoli sprouts will enhance your antiviral response, specifically having significant antiviral activity against the flu, HIV, Epstein-Barr, and hepatitis C.

One study has shown SFN to inhibit twenty-three out of twenty-eight bacterial and fungal species tested.

PROTECTS THE SKIN FROM SUN DAMAGE

No, we’re not asking you to generously rub broccoli sprouts all over your body. In fact, ingesting them will be enough. It’s been found that our favorite compound, SFN, has been shown to protect against UVA and UVB radiation, sunburn, and subsequent skin damage, so you don’t have to stop falling asleep at the beach just yet.

Three-day-old broccoli sprouts have been shown to protect against UV radiation–induced inflammation and to help stop redness. They also protect against oxidative stress caused by UVA radiation, which has been known to play a role in the premature aging and weathering of skin, reducing the body’s ability to create collagen. SFN also helps alleviate any blistering of the skin caused by sun radiation.

COMBATS DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY

Recent research has shown depression to be a form of inflammation in the body. Increased inflammation can be a major contributing factor to anxiety and depression, and broccoli sprouts have been shown to help combat these symptoms.

In clinical trials, mice that have repeated ingestion of SFN reverse their depression and anxiety-like behaviors. This is likely due to an inhibition of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the inflammatory response to stress.

RESTORES COGNITIVE FUNCTION

One of the most exciting aspects of SFN is its potential to help restore cognitive function.63 Studies have shown that SFN increases neuronal brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein that has been shown to play an important role in neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to form new connections and form new neurons and synapses during the learning process or following an injury.

SFN also reduces inflammation in the brain, which may help in cases of neurodegenerative disorders. SFN has been shown to help improve cognitive performance after traumatic brain injury, increase memory, and protect neurons against neurotoxicity. And this is just the beginning.

MAY HELP WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE

Some studies show SFN being beneficial with those suffering from Parkinson’s disease. In animal models, SFN inhibits dopaminergic neuronal loss (a hall mark of Parkinson’s) and can improve deficits in motor coordination.

MAY HELP WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

Broccoli sprouts won’t just help with traumatic brain injuries but also with neurodegenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer’s. SFN reduces the production of what’s known as amyloid beta, a peptide which is a major factor implicated in the formation of Alzheimer’s. Also, SFN reduces plaque formations of amyloid beta as well as reducing neuron loss, while improving cognitive impairment.

MAY HELP WITH AUTISM

Autism rates are increasing worldwide, with numerous theories as to why this is occurring and how to help treat the symptoms. One of the treatments is an addition of broccoli sprouts to the diet. A small study found that SFN helped improve symptoms in two-thirds of those who took a supplement. The study looked at the effects of SFN on twenty-six men with moderate to severe autism for eighteen weeks. Improvements were seen in irritability, lethargy, awareness, communication, motivation, and mannerisms. While this is a small study, it shows promise for further investigations into the effect of SFN on autism.

MAY BE BENEFICIAL FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE

For those suffering with substance abuse, the road to recovery may seem long and unattainable. However, there may be some help simply from eating sprouted broccoli. It’s been shown that SFN can improve behavioral changes associated with methamphetamine exposure in mice. Pretreating the mice with SFN attenuated increased movement in mice after a single dose of methamphetamine.

CAN IMPROVE DIGESTION AND GASTROINTESTINAL INFLAMMATION

SFN is able to protect the gut against NSAIDs, our favorite painkillers. NSAIDs, such as [advil is a brand name for ibuprofen] ibuprofen, have been shown to cause a range of side effects, including stomach pains and ulcers, liver or kidney problems, high blood pressure, and more. SFN may help combat these effects by inhibiting gastric ulcers in rats, preventing aspirin-related injury to the gut, and reducing inflammation.

PROTECTS THE LIVER

Worried about your liver? Eat broccoli sprouts. Broccoli sprouts improved liver function in men with fatty liver disease and in animals.69 SFN protected against numerous liver diseases caused by toxicity, drugs, and alcohol.

REDUCES DAMAGE FROM POLLUTION

If you live in a big city, especially one that is known for its smog, eating broccoli sprouts can help prevent potential health damage from pollution. Broccoli sprouts aid the body in detoxifying pollutants such as pesticides, heavy metals, and airborne toxins by activating detoxification systems and can decrease the risk of developing certain cancers.73

If you’re a smoker, you should be eating broccoli sprouts every day, as they will induce phase II enzymes in the upper airways and help protect you against the numerous toxins in cigarettes.

SFN also helps protect human white blood cells from pesticide-induced DNA damage for those who live near or on nonorganic farms, or just anyone who gets their lawn sprayed.

MAY COMBAT ASTHMA

For those suffering from asthma, start stocking up on broccoli sprout seeds and get to eating. Sprouts have been shown to benefit animals with asthma and to reduce airway inflammation.75 They also have been shown to help reduce airway inflammation in humans who have been exposed to diesel exhaust particles. Research is still new regarding asthma, and some studies have shown no improvements with asthma or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) symptoms.

Possible Side Effects, Contraindications, and Drug Interactions

Broccoli sprouts are generally considered safe. However, sprouts in general may carry bacteria that may cause illness when eaten. Make sure your seeds are clean before sprouting.

If you are allergic or sensitive to broccoli or other members of the cruciferous, cabbage, or mustard family, stay away.

Pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid eating broccoli sprouts due to the possible bacteria.

Broccoli sprouts may cause lowered blood pressure, so caution is urged for those who are currently taking other drugs or supplements to lower blood pressure.

Use caution if you are taking cholesterol-lowering drugs.

SFN, the active ingredient in broccoli sprouts, may interfere with how the body processes certain drugs and herbs which use the liver’s cytochrome P450 enzyme system. As a result, the levels of drugs or supplements may be increased in the blood and can cause an increase in the effect or a potentially serious adverse reaction.

Broccoli Sprout Care Guide

Sprouts are incredibly easy to grow in your home year-round, with little fuss and low-cost maintenance. Just throw those seeds in a mason jar and you’re all set! Well, almost. While it’s super easy to grow sprouts at home, be careful to keep your hands clean, as well as the jar and other surfaces—they are more easily contaminated than other types of greens.

Ingredients:

• •   3 tablespoons organic broccoli sprout seeds
• •   Wide-mouth mason jar
• •   Water
• •   Sprouting lid

Instructions:

• 1.   Take 3 tablespoons of broccoli sprout seeds and place them in a mason jar.
• 2.   Pour warm, purified water into the jar, making sure it just covers the seeds.
• 3.   Let seeds soak overnight in a warm and dark place. I like soaking them in a kitchen cabinet.
• 4.   After eight to ten hours, drain off the water and rinse the seeds with warm and fresh water. After rinsing, make sure to drain off the water again, vigorously shaking the jar to get as much of the water out as possible.
• 5.   Place the mason jar on its side in a bowl with the sprouting lid down so the water can drain off. Place it in a cabinet.
• 6.   Rinse the seeds two to three times per day for around four to five days.
• 7.   Watch the seeds begin to sprout and grow!
• 8.   Once your sprouts are a few centimeters long and have defined yellow tails, move your jar out near exposed sunlight. I usually place mine on a windowsill. Allow the sprouts to use the light to grow quickly. Be sure to keep rinsing the sprouts so they don’t dry out.
• 9.   The sprouts will be ready to eat once they have darker green leaves and are about an inch or longer in length.

HOW MANY SPROUTS SHOULD YOU EAT PER DAY?

According to Dr. Rhonda Patrick, a doctor in biomedical science and an expert in nutrition, eating around 100–140 grams of sprouts per day will yield enough SFN to equal what researchers use in studies. This is easy to calculate simply by getting a kitchen scale and weighing out your daily portions.

If you feel like this is too much to eat per day, eating any amount will surely boost your health. Making sure to eat them on a regular basis will be the most important gauge of whether or not you will gain any benefits from ingesting them.

HOW TO MAXIMIZE SFN IN YOUR BROCCOLI SPROUTS

If you truly want to maximize the benefits of your sprouts, make sure to follow a few steps. First, heating your broccoli sprouts by boiling, baking, or sautéing them in butter will only decrease the amount of SFN in your magical meal. Instead, eat your sprouts raw, in a smoothie or on a salad, to obtain full benefits.

Another trick to boost your SFN even more is to add a pinch of mustard seed. Mustard seed is a myrosinase-containing food, which means it can boost the SFN formation in your sprouts. A study found that participants who ate a broccoli supplement without active myrosinase had significantly lower levels of SFN than those that did eat broccoli (any type) with mustard seed.

If you feel like you must sauté or boil your sprouts or mature broccoli, make sure you add a pinch of mustard seed to those greens. The same goes for eating frozen broccoli, which typically has a reduced amount of myrosinase, as it’s been blanched as a part of the processing.

Recipes

Longevity Broccoli Smoothie

Smoothies are always a great way to gulp down nutrition, making them an easy and ideal breakfast or meal on the go. However, let’s be real. Broccoli sprouts aren’t the most amazing-tasting food on earth. Their earthy, dirt-like taste can stick in your mouth long after you chew them, or drink them. Blending them with berries and coconut milk helps to disguise their strong flavor, while adding more nutrients to your smoothie.

Ingredients:

• •   50 grams broccoli sprouts
• •   1 cup coconut milk or alternatives
• •   ¼ cup blueberries

Instructions:

• 1.   Place all ingredients in a blender and blend, making sure the blueberries and sprouts are ground.
• 2.   Add extra coconut milk to desired consistency.

Broccoli Sprout Dip

This powerhouse dip is perfect with chips, crackers, or crudites.

Ingredients:

• •   ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds, soaked in spring water for two hours
• •   ¾ cup raw cashews
• •   ½ cup yellow bell pepper, washed, deseeded, and chopped
• •   3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• •   1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• •   ½ tablespoon fresh turmeric (curcumin) or ¾ tablespoon turmeric powder
• •   ½ tablespoon fresh or ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• •   ½ cup spring or filtered water
• •   ¼ cup broccoli sprouts, rinsed and cut in half
• •   ½ cup fresh dill, rinsed and chopped
• •   2 tablespoons cold-pressed organic hemp seed oil
• •   Pink or sea salt to taste

Instructions:

• 1.   Blend all the ingredients and spices except the broccoli sprouts, dill, and hemp seed oil until smooth.
• 2.   Add remaining ingredients to the mixture above. Pulse or blend on low until the oil and fresh greens are finely chopped but still visible.
• 3.   Adjust the seasoning to taste and enjoy. This will last for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Adding sprouts to your meals every day is easy and delicious. You don’t need a recipe; just toss a handful of broccoli sprouts in your salad, place them on your sandwich, eat them with your eggs, blend them with your smoothies, and more. Broccoli sprouts can be the easiest and healthiest food you add to your routine ever. Don’t like the taste? Toss them in olive oil and vinegar, or just add butter. Butter makes everything taste better.

There is no reason to delay eating sprouts, so buy some seeds online, get your mason jars in order, and start sprouting. The immense healing benefits rival blockbuster drugs, and there are no side effects. If you want to be healthier, feel better, and stay on a budget, there is no better way to get on track than with broccoli sprouts.

Tiếng Việt

Mầm Bông Cải (Brassica oleracea)

Không phải là một loại cây trồng phổ biến, nhưng Mầm Bông Cải (broccoli sprouts) rất thú vị và dễ trồng trong nhà để mang lại trải nghiệm độc đáo, giốn những loài vật nuôi được chia sẻ, nhưng cây này sẽ khỏe mạnh hơn và không đáng sợ. Mặc dù bạn sẽ không trồng chúng để xem chúng trông như thế nào trên bệ cửa sổ, nhưng Mầm Bông Cải (broccoli sprouts) là một loài hoàn toàn hữu dụng để làm vườn trong nhà, vì phần lớn thời gian chúng sẽ được trồng bên trong tủ tối và sau đó bạn có thể thưởng thức ngay lập tức.

Mầm Bông Cải (broccoli sprouts) là một trong những thực phẩm lành mạnh nhất trên trái đất mà bạn có thể ăn. Trên thực tế, chúng mang lại rất nhiều lợi ích cho sức khỏe, khi đọc về loại cây này, bạn có thể cảm thấy như đang xem một quảng cáo QVC vào đêm khuya. Từ phòng chống ung thư đến chống trầm cảm, tiểu đường, lão hóa, bệnh tim, bệnh hô hấp, bệnh dạ dày và thậm chí là bệnh tự kỷ, Mầm Bông Cải (broccoli sprouts) có thể là thực phẩm thần kỳ mà bạn chưa từng nghe đến.

Mầm Bông Cải (broccoli sprouts) có hàm lượng hợp chất chống ung thư cao gấp 100 lần so với một loại rau trưởng thành thực sự (Bông Cải Xanh- broccoli) và chứa một thành phần kỳ diệu – sulforaphane (SFN) – một hợp chất chống ung thư mạnh mẽ giúp chống lại và giảm nguy cơ phát triển ung thư. SFN là một trong những hóa chất được nghiên cứu kỹ lưỡng nhất trên trái đất và ngày càng trở nên phổ biến do khả năng chữa bệnh đáng kinh ngạc. Và trong khi bạn có thể ăn vài pound cải Xoăn, Bông Cải Xanh trưởng thành và cải Brussels để nhận được lợi ích của SFN, thì chỉ cần ăn một vài ounce mầm bông cải xanh cũng mang lại những lợi ích tương tự. Trên thực tế, Mầm Bông Cải (broccoli sprouts) có nồng độ SFN cao nhất.

Nhưng lợi ích chữa bệnh của Mầm Bông Cải (broccoli sprouts) không chỉ dừng lại ở SFN, chúng cũng chứa các hợp chất đáng kinh ngạc khác như indole-3-carbinol, carotenoid, kaempferol, quercetin và nhiều loại vitamin, bao gồm vitamin C, vitamin K1, kali, folate, sắt và magiê.

Rau Mầm rất dễ trồng và đem lại sự thú vị khi làm bếp, bạn có thể cho một nắm vào cốc sinh tố hàng ngày vào mỗi buổi sáng, đặt nó lên trên món salad yêu thích hoặc thêm một vài cọng rau mầm để trang trí món súp yêu thích của bạn. Thêm Mầm Bông Cải (broccoli sprouts) vào thói quen hàng ngày có thể thay đổi hoàn toàn sức khỏe của bạn, giúp ngăn ngừa một loạt bệnh mãn tính, giảm lượng mỡ trong cơ thể và giúp bạn tràn đầy năng lượng cho cả ngày.

Lợi ích sức khỏe

GIỚI THIỆU VỀ SULFORAPHANE (SFN)

Ngày nay, một chất phytochemical được tìm thấy trong các loại rau Cải, SFN là một từ kỳ diệu, với các blogger, bác sĩ và các chuyên gia dinh dưỡng say sưa với vô vàn các lợi ích sức khỏe của nó. Thành phần kỳ diệu này được gọi là isothiocyanate, một hợp chất chứa lưu huỳnh, và được kích hoạt khi bạn nhai thức ăn, cắt thức ăn hoặc tiêu thụ rau củ. Để hiểu chi tiết hơn, việc nghiền nát hoặc nhai mầm sẽ kích hoạt một loại enzyme gọi là myrosinase, giúp chuyển đổi các hợp chất gọi là glucosinolate thành isothiocyanates.

Tóm lại, hãy đảm bảo rằng bạn không chỉ nuốt toàn bộ rau mầm, nhai kỹ những thứ rau xanh tươi tốt đó và nuốt khi biết rằng bạn đang nhận được chất bổ sung sức khỏe tuyệt vời nhất trên trái đất. Hãy tận hưởng loại rau tốt cho sức khỏe đó! Khả năng tăng cường khả năng chống oxy hóa của tế bào và khả năng thúc đẩy quá trình giải độc của Mầm Bông Cải (broccoli sprouts) là một trong những lý do chính khiến các nhà nghiên cứu tin rằng SFN vô cùng có lợi.

Người ta đã chứng minh rằng mầm ba ngày tuổi có thể chứa lượng tiền chất SFN, glucoraphanin, gấp một trăm lần so với cây rau trưởng thành. Và Mầm Bông Cải (broccoli sprouts) sống có lượng glucoraphanin, SFN cao nhất.

Trong khi các công ty sản xuất thực phẩm bổ sung đang cạnh tranh để tìm ra loại thực phẩm bổ sung có chứa SFN mạnh và có khả năng sinh học cao nhất trên thị trường, thì không gì có thể đánh bại được việc ăn Mầm Bông Cải (broccoli sprouts) hữu cơ sống. Mặc dù danh sách các lợi ích sức khỏe bắt nguồn từ SFN dường như là vô tận, nhưng tôi đã cố gắng để viết về những lợi ích thú vị nhất. Chúc các bạn may mắn!

PHÒNG NGỪA VÀ ĐIỀU TRỊ UNG THƯ

Một trong những khả năng được nghiên cứu và thú vị nhất của SFN là khả năng ngăn ngừa và chống lại bệnh ung thư. Trong số hàng ngàn hợp chất được tìm thấy trong thực vật có khả năng ngăn ngừa và tiêu diệt ung thư, SFN cho đến nay là một trong những hợp chất hứa hẹn nhất. Nó không chỉ được chứng minh là có khả năng tiêu diệt tế bào ung thư mà còn rất ít ảnh hưởng đến các tế bào khỏe mạnh. SFN cũng đã được chứng minh là có khả năng làm giảm tỷ lệ tổn thương DNA và đột biến khi các hóa chất gây ung thư liên kết với DNA, do đó bảo vệ chúng ta khỏe mạnh giữa cuộc sống ngày càng độc hại.

Và SFN đã được chứng minh là có thể tiêu diệt ung thư đại trực tràng, ung thư biểu mô tế bào vảy ở miệng, tế bào ung thư vú, tế bào ung thư cổ tử cung và tế bào gan, tuyến tiền liệt và bệnh bạch cầu. Hoạt động từ nhiều góc độ khác nhau, SFN không chỉ có thể gây chết tế bào ung thư mà còn ngăn chặn các gen ung thư kích hoạt, loại bỏ tổn thương DNA và ức chế các enzym có thể kích hoạt các chất gây ung thư. Thật là tuyệt vời!

Hơn nữa, SFN đã được chứng minh là giúp tăng cường hiệu quả của các loại thuốc điều trị ung thư, làm cho chúng hoạt động tốt hơn và giảm độc tính của thuốc lên các tế bào khỏe mạnh.