How to incorporate broccoli sprouts to your diet to help reduce post-holiday inflammation

In today's world, we are exposed to 80,000 toxins daily not only in our environment but in our foods as well.  These toxins are linked to many health issues and cause inflammation in our bodies. There are many ways to reduce inflammation but one of the quickest and most effective ways I have seen is by eating broccoli sprouts. Broccoli sprouts are one of my favorite foods and I try to incorporate them into my diet daily. The reason broccoli sprouts are so important for our diet is that like many dark leafy green vegetables, they contain sulforaphane.  While sulforaphane is in other dark leafy green vegetables, broccoli sprouts have 10 to 100 times
more than broccoli and other vegetables! On day three or four of growing broccoli, when the sprouts are one to two inches tall, is when the sulforaphane is highest. According to a report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, just a small one-ounce serving provides 73 milligrams of sulforaphane glucosinolate. Per 100-gram serving, broccoli sprouts offer approximately 250 milligrams. (1)

Sulforaphane is linked to reducing inflammation and is one of the easiest ways we can help eliminate inflammation - especially this holiday season. While the holidays are fun and meant to be enjoyed - we are likely overeating and consuming foods we are not typically eating in our daily lives. Stress in our lives is usually higher during the holidays. This causes oxidative stress on the body and large amounts of reactive oxygen species such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hydroxyl radical, and superoxide anion are produced that damage DNA. DNA damage leads to mutations that, in turn, are associated with diseases such as cancer and coronary heart disease, as well as inflammatory diseases such as arteriosclerosis and anxiety disorders. (2) We know that anti-inflammatory foods such as broccoli sprouts help to inhibit oxidative stress. Broccoli is a powerful anti-inflammatory and, no doubt, amazing brain food.

By adding broccoli sprouts to our diets daily - especially during the holiday season, we can help reduce inflammation and stay healthy. 

Here are a few ways to add broccoli sprouts to your diet every day:

• My new favorite way to take broccoli sprouts is with Broc Shot! Broc Shot is a ready-to-shoot wellness shot that is made with 100% pure broccoli sprout powder and filtered water. They are shelf-stable so you can travel with them. Broc Shot is a quick and effective way to get your daily dose of sulforaphane. I recommend giving these a try - taking them daily will help with inflammation and gut health, skin health, detoxing the body, and more! Try them here and use my code: LIANA to save 15%.
• You can purchase broccoli sprouts at many health food stores and certain grocery stores. Broccoli sprouts have a shorter shelf life and cost more than other types of sprouts, so not every supermarket carries them. It is easy to grow your own, though, and you can watch online videos for guidance on this.
• Start to think of broccoli sprouts as a kitchen staple. Stock up on some every week, and then think, How can I add broccoli sprouts to this? whenever you’re cooking. Add them to everything from soups and salads to main dishes. Sprinkle them on meats or place a wild salmon fillet on a plate full of sprouts.
• Roll up broccoli sprouts into balls and add them to ice cube trays with water. Then pop a few of these into your smoothies and shakes! Freeze a bunch of them so you always have them on hand ready to add.

Resources:

1. J.W. Fahey, Y. Zhang, and P. Talalay, “Broccoli Sprouts: An Exceptionally Rich
Source of Inducers of Enzymes that Protect Against Chemical Carcinogens,”
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), vol. 94, no. 19
(September 16, 1997): 10367–72, doi: 10.1073/pnas.94.19.10367.

2. M. Valko et al., “Free Radicals and Antioxidants in Normal Physiological
Functions and Human Disease,” International Journal of Biochemical Cell
Biology, vol. 39, no. 1 (2007): 44–84, PMID: 23675073; J.H. Hwang and S.B.
Lim, “Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Broccoli Florets in
LPS-Stimulated RAW 264.7 Cells,” Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, vol.
19, no. 2 (June 2014): 89–97, doi: 10.3746/pnf.2014.19.2.089.