I’ve talked about the anti-aging effects of sulforaphane before. I take 2 capsules of BrocElite Plus® with 10 mg of sulforaphane (plus other isothiocyanates including PEITC) per day. And it impacts aging by:
- Delaying senescence (death of good cells).
- Inhibiting DNA methyltransferase (DNA mutations).
- Turning on the antioxidant response element of over 200 antioxidants.
- Inhibiting histone deacetylase.
- Inducing mitophagy (death of bad mitochondria).
- Inducing autophagy (death of bad cells).
- Promoting BDNF (preserves existing neurons & grows new neurons).
One new anti-aging benefit of sulforaphane is to create a “younger” microbiome. A peer-reviewed journal article published in 2020 by researchers out of Arkansas showed that giving old mice sulforaphane transformed their gut bacterial composition into that of young mice.
The microbiome is comprised of bacteria (as well as viruses, and fungi) in us and on us. We have trillions of bacteria in our microbiome, which is more than we have cells in our body. The bacteria in our gut is called the gut microbiome and is a complex ecosystem located in the intestinal tract.
In the study, 40 mice were examined – 20 were young (6-8 weeks old) and 20 were old (21-22 months old). There were young controls and young mice fed sulforaphane, as well as old controls and old mice who were fed sulforaphane for 2 months.
The results showed that the young controls and young mice fed sulforaphane had a similar microbiome. But in the older mice, there was a definite difference between the controls and mice fed sulforaphane.
Most notably different were bacteria from the Allobaculum genus. This genus is very low in older mice who typically have age-related mitochondrial dysfunction. In older mice taking sulforaphane, the prevalence of bacteria from the Allobaculum genus was similar to those of young mice.
So why are results from this study important? This is significant due to the benefit that bacteria from the Allobaculum genus have from their production of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). SCFAs are potently anti-inflammatory and are known to help with a variety of health benefits including the protection of the intestinal barrier.
The shift in microbiome to a less healthy composition as you age potentially may be due to a change in diet, decrease in exercise and increase in pharmaceuticals. As you age, your immune system decreases its ability to function properly. It has been well established that approximately 70% of the immune system is located in the gut.
And while the microbiome’s impact on the immune system has not been well established, it is plausible that the two are somehow connected, potentially through how inflamed the gut is.
The main take-away from this study is that sulforaphane may have a significant benefit on the microbiome composition of older individuals. The next step is to do this in humans at a dose that is realistic to take.
11 Comments
How much suforaphane did they feed the mice – could you compare that amount to the number of caps of brocelite a person would have to take per day to get a similar result?
You folks just keep doing what you’re doing. It’s changing my life. Completely off my blood pressure meds after about 3 months of 2 capsules a day. I am astounded. I’m adding Cucumin too as soon as it arrives. Have eaten very differently since 2001 but had stalled and even digressed. Sulforaphane has put me in the game. I’m so grateful to ya’ll.
My concern: if you are allergic to sulfur drugs, does this mean you will be allergic to sulforaphane. Also, if you don’t know if you are allergic to sulfur or not, what should you do? Thanks.
Thank you for you blog and newsletters. I do enjoy them all. Just wondering if you can comment on when the best time to take Brocelite? Is it better to avoid taking it close to workout times? So the oxidation effects of exercise aren’t diminished? Or does it take a long while after ingestion for the effects to be present in the body? Thanks!
Cherie
Why do you take an additional 10 mg of sulphoraphane per day in addition to the 2 capsules of Brock-Elite? Also, what are isothiocyanate including PEITC? I have no idea what these are and why are they important?
Also where are you obtaining your additional 10 mg of sulforaphane from? A lab to a commercial company?
Thanks so much
Great article David! Question: as you likely know, Rhonda Patrick, research phd, suggests steeping broc sprouts in 60 to 70 degree Celsius water for 10 min before eating. This in effect sharply increases sulfurafane (by killing off a temp sensitive enzyme(?) that would prevent a substantial amount of the sulforafane from forming, apparently.). Anyway, any thoughts on whether this would likely limit the bio effect you write of here? Also, tho I get what Dr Patrick is saying on youtube, it does seem curious to me she does not speak about what to do with the water from steeping. Which sure smells like a lot of the sulforafane has run off into it. Are we supposed to ingest this? Bc it’s kinda, well, suboptimal (read: gross). . . Btw,
I think your product is brilliant. In that this is all a LOT of trouble to do individually. Keep on, Dan
Daniel – the heating process Rhonda Patrick speaks about is a high enough temperature to kill the enzyme without messing up the sulforaphane. The issue with sprouting, however, is the variability in the seeds. Some create lots of sulforaphane, some create none. Having grown enough sprouts to juice every day for about 3 yeas with little kids, I do know it’s really difficult. Having BrocElite provides people an option to get sulforphane (and the other isothiocynates in broccoli) who either don’t want to grow sprouts or want to have a back up if their crop fails.
JOAN – we get this concern a lot. Everyone is different. For some with a sulfur allergy, it doesn’t work. For others, it does. I would suggest coordinating with your medical provider to test whether BrocElite can work for you.
CHERIE – the sulforaphane gets into you system within hours. We have people who take BrocElite for recovery from excercise. So, yes, you can take it after excerise. Taking one in the morning and one in the evening is what we recommend. If you want to take an extra one after exercise, that would help with recovery.
CHERIE – the sulforaphane gets into you system within hours. We have people who take BrocElite for recovery from excercise. So, yes, you can take it after excerise. Taking one in the morning and one in the evening is what we recommend. If you want to take an extra one after exercise, that would help with recovery.
RENE – Great question! The amount of sulforaphane given the mice was one of the weaknesses of the study. They fed them a huge amount. It seems like researchers do this a lot in mice studies. We already have our eye on repeating this study in humans to determine the amount needed to receive this effect.