Schizophrenia and Broccoli: Here’s What You Need to Know

Broccoli has been considered a super food for quite some time now. It has natural cancer fighting properties and is an amazing source of vitamin C, B complex vitamins, and calcium; all essential vitamins that your body needs to function properly. Recent research has revealed that broccoli may have one other amazing benefit for your health: broccoli may be able to manage people’s schizophrenia.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have stated that a compound that is found in broccoli sprouts has the ability to adjust the brain’s chemical imbalances which have been linked to schizophrenia. This compound is known as sulforaphane, which can be used as an alternative to antipsychotic drugs, except it does not have potentially dangerous side effects.

Sulforaphane is so powerful that it potentially has the ability to be a safe supplement to treat people who are at risk of developing schizophrenia. It is thought that it can be a means of preventing, delaying, or severely blunting the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

A study recently published in the Journal JAMA Psychiatry, analyzed the brain regions of 81 different people who had recently undergone their first psychotic episode. The participants had 4% less of a chemical known as glutamate in certain regions of their brain. A separate study has shown that taking two capsules of sprout extracted sulforaphane was able to increase the average glutathione levels of human beings by about 30%.

So, eating your broccoli can drastically restore your brain chemistry. It is just a matter of actually including broccoli in your diet. Fortunately, there are lot of different ways to eat broccoli as it is a truly versatile vegetable. It can fit in all matter of dishes,  and even be eaten raw.