This superfood can protect your gut and ward off disease: new study

Maybe our parents did have a point when they told us to eat more vegetables.

A new study showed that broccoli contains certain molecules that can protect and promote gut health as well as inhibit disease, further supporting the evidence that the vegetable really is a superfood.

Scientists at Penn State University tested on mice and found that the molecules in broccoli bind to a receptor that helps to safeguard the lining of their small intestine.

They established that when this binding happens, it “initiates a variety of activities that affect the functions of intestinal cells.”

There are certain cells that line the intestine that help to keep you healthy. These cells include goblet cells, which form a “protective layer” of mucus along your intestinal wall, and Paneth cells, which produce lysosomes that contain digestive enzymes.

The researchers found a connection between eating broccoli and having these types of cells.

It is crucial to have a well-functioning small intestine as it does most of the work during the digestive process, according to the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Other research has found that eating more cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, can help to lessen the rate of cancer and Type 2 diabetes.

“We all know that broccoli is good for us, but why? What happens in the body when we eat broccoli?” Gary Perdew, who is the H. Thomas and Dorothy Willits Hallowell Chair in Agricultural Science at Penn State, wrote in a statement.

He continued, “Our research is helping to uncover the mechanisms for how broccoli and other foods benefit health in mice and likely humans, as well. It provides strong evidence that cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts should be part of a normal healthy diet.”

In order to perform the study, the results of which were published in the journal Laboratory Investigation, researchers fed a group of mice a diet that was made up of 15% broccoli, which is the equivalent to around three and a half cups of the veggie per day for humans.

They also fed a control group of mice a “typical lab diet” that did not contain any broccoli.

After the mice were fed the different diets, the scientists analyzed the animals’ tissues for different traits, including the extent to which aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligands were activated, which are the molecules that bind to the receptor.

As a result, the study found that the mice who were not fed a diet of 15% broccoli did not have AHR activity, which resulted in “altered intestinal barrier function.”

Specifically, the mice who were not fed broccoli had a smaller number of goblet cells and protective mucus in the small intestine, as well as a lesser transit time of food and decreased levels of Paneth cells and lysosome production.

“The gut health of the mice that were not fed broccoli was compromised in a variety of ways that are known to be associated with disease,” said Perdew.