One More Reason To Eat Broccoli

Today I’m gonna give you one more reason to eat broccoli. If you read this blog, I’m expecting you to eat at least a serving of broccoli per day, if not, well you might want reconsider your eating habits and get on board with this miracle food.
A team of researchers from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have found that a chemical in broccoli (and other cruciferous vegetables) may help restore the human body’s immune system, which declines with age.

The antioxidant activity

The study, published in the online edition of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, found that a chemical component, called sulforaphane switches on a set of antioxidant genes and enzymes in immune cells. These antyoxidants then fight the free radicals that can damage cells and lead to deseases.
We already discussed this thoroughly but it’s worth remind it: free radicals are the byproduct of normal body processes (e.g., the conversion of food into energy), and can also enter the body through small particles in the polluted air. These molecules can cause oxidative tissue damage leading to disease. The oxidative damage to body tissues and organs is thought to be one of the major causes of aging.
"The mysteries of aging have always intrigued man," said Dr. Andre Nel, the study's principal investigator and chief of nanomedicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "While we have known for some time that free radicals are important in aging, most of the past attention has focused on the mechanisms that produce free radicals rather than addressing the pathways used by the body to suppress their production."
"Our study contributes to the growing understanding of the importance of these antioxidant defense pathways that the body uses to fight free radicals," said Dr. Nel, in an interview "Insight into these processes points to ways in which we may be able to alleviate the effects of aging."
"As we age, the ability of the immune system to fight disease and infections and protect against cancer wears down as a result of the impact of oxygen radicals on the immune system," Nel said.
According to the UCLA study, the ability of aged tissues to reinvigorate their antioxidant defense can play an important role in reversing much of the negative impact of free radicals on the immune system.
“Our defense against oxidative stress damage may determine at what rate we age, how it will manifest and how to interfere in those processes," Nel said. "In particular, our study shows that a chemical present in broccoli is capable of stimulating a-wide range of antioxidant defense pathways and may be able to interfere with the age-related decline in immune function."

The findings

The scientists discovered that dendritic cells (which introduce infectious agents and foreign substances to the immune system) were particularly effective in restoring immune function in aged animals when treated with sulforaphane.
The UCLA study found that sulforaphane interacts with a protein called Nrf2, which serves as a master regulator of the body's overall antioxidant response and is capable of switching on hundreds of antioxidant and rejuvenating genes and enzymes.
"This is a radical new way of thinking in how to increase the immune function of elderly people to possibly protect against viral infections and cancer," Nel said. "We may have uncovered a new mechanism by which to boost vaccine responses by using a nutrient chemical to impact oxidant stress pathways in the immune system."
Apparently chemicals like sulforaphane are capable of restoring some of the ravages of aging by boosting antioxidant pathways.
"Dietary antioxidants have been shown to have important effects on immune function, and with further study, we may be adding broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables to that list," Nel said.
For now, Nel suggests including these vegetables as part of a healthy diet. Nel said that these findings offer a window into how the immune system ages. "We may find that combating free radicals is only part of the answer. It may prove to be a more multifaceted process and interplay between pro- and antioxidant forces," he said.

Considerations

Well, at this point I don’t think there’s something more to add. Yet again another proof that if you eat right the right stuff you can “Live Forever” or better you’ll “Live Better”.

The Iron You