In an article published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, a research team found that eating broccoli daily may help stave off some serious health problems. If eaten regularly, it might have an effect on the cause of a lot of gastric problems and perhaps broccoli can even help prevent stomach cancer.

Eating ¼ pound or 2 ounces of baby broccoli or ½ cup of broccoli daily for two months may protect against a common stomach bug that is linked to gastritis, ulcers and stomach cancer. The broccoli sprouts were found to be more potent then the mature broccoli .

Fresh broccoli contains sulforaphane, a phytochemical,which is a potent antibiotic against Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that causes gastritis, ulcers and stomach cancer. Furthermore broccoli protects against oxygen radicals, DNA-damaging chemicals and inflammation.

It has long been known that sulforaphane is a potent antibiotic against Helicobacter pylori. But this is the first trial showing the effects of the compound on people.The researchers gave 25 people in Japan who were infected with Helicobacter pylori broccoli sprouts every day for two months. Another 25 infected people consumed an equivalent amount of sprouts that don’t contain sulforaphane.The study showed a reduction in the levels of infection and inflammation. Since inflammation is a processes implicated in cancer, the likelihood of getting gastritis, ulcers and cancer is probably reduced.

Reference

Cancer Prev Res (Phila Pa). 2009 Apr;2(4):353-60. Dietary sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprouts reduce colonization and attenuate gastritis in Helicobacter pylori-infected mice and humans. Yanaka A, Fahey JW, Fukumoto A, Nakayama M, Inoue S, Zhang S, Tauchi M, Suzuki H, Hyodo I, Yamamoto M.