Offspring Healthier when Expectant Mothers Eat Broccoli Sprouts

Eating broccoli sprouts during pregnancy may provide your children with life-long protection against heart disease.

A recent study by the University of Saskatchewan shows that a natural plant compound, glucoraphanin, found in high concentrations in broccoli sprouts could enable an expectant mother to ensure their babies have healthy hearts as adults. Previous research has determined that broccoli sprouts contain up to 50 times more glucoraphanin than mature broccoli heads, and are one of the richest sources of the compound.

After feeding broccoli sprouts to pregnant rats, the Canadian research team found that along with improving the mothers' health, broccoli sprouts also appeared to improve the health of their offspring right into adulthood - even if the offspring never ate a sprout themselves.

The study was published in the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) last January.

Research team leader, Dr Bernhard Juurlink, a professor in the University of Saskatchewan anatomy and cell biology department, says, "We looked at the offspring up to six months later and even on a normal diet, they were in better health than their mothers."

In an earlier study, Dr Juurlinjk’s research team discovered that broccoli sprouts boost the body's natural defenses against the oxidative stress that causes high blood pressure and inflammation. This latest study shows that this dietary change not only improves the health of expectant mothers, but also has a lasting effect on their offspring.

Dr Juurlink says if humans react the same way as rats, 200 grams or less of sprouts every other day may be enough to reduce oxidative stress. If he's right, a simple dietary change may prevent or delay the onset of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, or possibly even neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Find out more about broccoli sprouts.