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What Is Sulforaphane?

What Is Sulforaphane? Its Benefits, And Side Effects

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Written By-Molly Wilson
 • Published: 08/10/2024
• Updated: 17/07/2025

To understand what Sulforaphane think of it as an activated plant compound in simple terms. This thing has many health benefits to it. You can have it in your body each time when you have any vegetable like broccoli or cabbage. Its health benefits range from curing issues like cancer or asthma to giving better heart function.

If you want to understand about this compound, you are welcome. In this article, we will give you a true idea about the health benefits of Sulforaphane. We shall also check if taking it too much can cause some adverse effects or not.


How Does Sulforaphane Form In Our Body?


In the above section, we told you that Sulforaphane forms in your body. It is not any nutrient that you can directly find in vegetables. So let us try and understand the process of forming this compound.

See, to form this compound in your body, you will need to have a vegetable like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, or Bok-choy. Now in these veggies is present the plant-based item glucoraphanin. This item mixes with an enzyme that is present in the human body. This reaction between the two items helps in the formation of Sulforaphane.

Remember that this reaction to the vegetable needs to be chopped and cut. This is exactly what happens in your mouth when you chew the vegetables.

You cannot get sulforaphane by cooking or steaming it. This is because it needs the enzyme myrosinase that is present in us. If you cook the vegetables a lot, it is possible that the reaction will not occur at all.

This is because cooking the vegetables under a lot of heat damages the plant compound glucoraphanin in them.


How To Get Sulforaphane In Your Body?


To get Sulforaphane in your body you need to find out those veggies that contain the plant item glucoraphanin. A specific section of the veggies, the cruciferous vegetables seem to have this plant compound the most in it. To have this plant compound in your body and produce sulforaphane eat-

  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Cabbage
  • Arugula
  • Napa
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Turnips
  • Radish
  • Carrots
  • Bok choy
  • Kale
  • watercress

Health Benefits Of Sulforaphane


A lot of studies have been done now with Sulforaphane to understand its benefits. On some occasions, the study was done in animals, and in other cases, human trials were also done. Let us explore the benefits of this compound to have a better idea-

Cancer  May Prevent Cancer

No doubt, if you list the most severe disorders, you will include cancer in it. With this issue, there is an uncontrolled reproduction of the cells that form tissues. It spreads fast in the human body and may even lead to death.

In some test tube experiments, it is seen that sulforaphane may help in reducing the growth of cancer cells. Other results tell Sulforaphane can also prevent cancer. It can do so as it increases the release of certain antioxidants in the body.

It helps detox your body from any cancerous germs or substances. The only issue is that the scientists used a concentrated amount of sulforaphane for the experiment. However, it is unclear if a small amount of the item contained in a veggie would also have the same effect or not.

Heart  Helps To Increase The Functions Of The Heart

Several studies both in animals and humans show that sulforaphane can prevent many Heart Condition disorders. It is shown to reduce the signs of swelling and inflammation of the arteries which causes heart issues. And based on these results scientists also say that it can help to control high BP. But it is not clear if it can work the same way for humans at any age or health. Studies are still going on to find out the benefits of sulforaphane for the heart in the long term.

Diabetes  Can Help To Cure Diabetes

Type-2 diabetes is another major and critical disorder with many being affected by it. Some studies indicate that this item can help to reduce your high blood sugar levels. For example, a test study shows that it can help reduce fasting sugar levels in humans. It also shows effects to increase insulin production that checks blood sugar. Studies done on animals also show the same results.

The only problem is that so far only some limited data is available on such trails. Hence, it is not truly evident if it can help to control and reduce diabetes in the long run.

Asthma  Can Help To Cure Asthma

Some studies of sulforaphane show that the compound can help reduce swelling and inflammation of the cells and tissues. And this property may just aid a patient who has asthma.

As you may know with this, the issue is there is swelling of the airways, and the airways get thin. This causes difficulty for the lungs to get ample airflow.

What scientists tell us is that sulforaphane can help to control and avoid asthma issues. It helps in the release of different antioxidants in your body that prevent inflammation from occurring.

Skin  Has Good Benefits For The Skin?

As we told you above, sulforaphane is known for its action to increase the secretion of several antioxidants. This property can help you to get glowing, softer, and smooth skin. The antioxidants released due to sulforaphane’s action help detox the cells and rejuvenate them. This helps prevent damage to the skin due to sun exposure and avoids skin aging, formation of wrinkles, and other effects.

Brain  May Help To Avoid Brain Damage

A few studies have been done to study the effects of sulforaphane on brain cells. Studies here show that it can help avoid brain damage. It helps to optimize the neurons and prevent their damage in the long run. An inference that draws out of here is that a person can have less chance of suffering from brain issues or brain stroke.

Concluding Thoughts


Sulforaphane is exceptionally good for our body in numerous ways. Studies show that it can help to cure different issues, but it is not evident. You can include veggies of your choice from the above list in the article to get more of this item.