To follow up Week 4 of Changing an inflammatory phenotype with broccoli sprouts:

1. I didn’t get around to curating a 2019 Spanish review Sorting out the Value of Cruciferous Sprouts as Sources of Bioactive Compounds for Nutrition and Health. Some highlights:

“Sprouts represent a valuable source of diverse micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, and amino acids), macronutrients (proteins, low in carbohydrates, and a high content of dietary fiber), and plant secondary metabolites (mainly phenolic compounds and glucosinolates (GLSs)). Due to this composition, edible sprouts are a valuable vehicle and opportunity to impact health, delivering beneficial bioactive compounds once incorporated in the diet on a regular basis.

This range of molecular mechanisms, which is susceptible to activation or inhibition by the GLSs, ITCs [isothiocyanates], and (poly)phenols present in cruciferous sprouts triggers diverse pathways governed by expression of a broad variety of genes. Among them, to date, the following pathways have been identified:

• Inhibition of DNA binding of carcinogens,
• Stimulation of detoxification of potentially damaging compounds,
• DNA repair,
• Repression of cell proliferation and angiogenesis (directly related to tumor growth and metastasis),
• Induction of apoptosis of malignant cells, and
• Ability to enhance the antioxidant tools of cells and promote free radical scavenging.

Regarding this biological activity, modulation of the inflammatory cascade, and more specifically, transcription factor NF-κB by GLSs, ITCs, and (poly)phenols, are also involved in anticancer activity.”

See these reviewers’ 2020 Reviewing clinical trials of broccoli sprouts and their compounds for further examples of why “Not determined” frequently occurred.

2. Inflammatory problems mentioned in Week 1 twinged throughout Week 5 and flared up yesterday. I didn’t run during my four-to-six-mile-long beach walks this week in case that aggravated things.

Not sure what’s going on, because these problems were quiescent during Weeks 3 and 4 with the same levels of exercise and diet. Maybe this development was a result of homeostatic adjustments to the previous month’s daily broccoli sprout dosage?

Two days ago I began doubling the starting amount of broccoli seeds from one to two tablespoons. I’ll see what effects eating 120 grams of 3-day-old broccoli sprouts have during the coming week.

3. I was stonewalled twice by a commercial supplier of broccoli sprout powder who advertised:

“Independent assays confirm that EnduraCELL yields more Sulforaphane per gram and per dose than any other broccoli sprout ingredient available! These assays showed that EnduraCell yields around 3.5 times more SULFORAPHANE than the next highest broccoli sprout product.”

They wouldn’t provide evidence of their claim to a prospective customer?

Sulforaphane is immediately produced by combining glucoraphanin and myrosinase. Sulforaphane degrades relatively quickly, and requires special handling in commercial products.

It costs me very little to grow broccoli sprouts, < $0.50 USD per day. Could a commercial product even deliver equivalent benefits at a competitive price?

4. I reactivated my Twitter account after a year’s dormancy. I credit my traveling companion for having better things to do. I blame this political power grab for me becoming bored enough to be herded back onto Twitter.