Broccoli sprout extract contains compounds which lead to the production of something called sulforaphane.
Sulforphane, a chemoprotective compound, has been shown to rapidly 'detoxify' the body of airborne pollutants and other carcinogens. [1,2,3]
Briefly:
>> In this subgroup analysis, the increases in the excretion of the mercapturic acids of benzene, acrolein, and crotonaldehyde for the broccoli sprout versus placebo group were +54.7% (+27.2%, +88.1%), +21.7% (+1.8%, 45.5%), and +2.0% (−13.7%, +20.4%), respectively.
Out of curiosity, I looked into the best ways to get this sulforaphane. Studies have found that it forms after plant defense systems are triggered by damage(like an herbivore chewing), but cooking(including the blanching done to frozen foods) cuts off that process. Some studies show that cutting up fresh broccoli, then letting it sit 90 minutes before cooking would allow for greater levels[0], and another showed adding powdered mustard seed to heated broccoli also increases levels[1].
A few weeks ago there was another story about air pollution and cognitive decline that made it onto the frontpage. I noticed that most of the comments on that story were people discussing air filters, respirators, etc.
I wanna get ahead of that crowd this time and say: this doesn't make much sense as a problem for individuals to solve. We should instead be focused on measuring the problem (where is most of the pollution coming from) and passing legislation to drive it down.
Air pollution is localized and therefore easier to legislate around (because the people polluting and the people suffering are in the same legislature). Local and state-level laws can help here in a way that they can't for climate change (which requires more international coordination).
Pollution comes from individual activity and consumption almost entirely (since industries are more or less directly producing for people). So solutions against pollution are individual actions (lower footprint, it's possible to live well with 5% of the average person's footprint) and global ones (green cities)
It's a bit ironic to think about buying air purifier/conditioners/filters.. which maybe lower very locally the pollution, but increase the global pollution (for making, delivering, maintaining, powering, recycling those devices)
My aunt lived in a house for years which turned out to have a leaky gas pipe in the basement. Aside from the fire hazard, she had been breathing in gradually rising levels of fumes for many years. Recently she has been diagnosed with Alsheimer's. Is it possible that type of gas was a contributing factor?
Anecdotally, during the Bay Area fires of 2018 when the air quality was the worse in the world, it truly felt like walking around in a half-functional dazed fog
I’m a serous note though, air pollution is a major problem in places like Lahore, Peshawar etc(Pakistan).
I wonder if the best approach to regulating pollution is go from regulation and policy change or try to come up with solutions (startups) that tackle the problem directly...
>"Evidence suggests exposure to particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm (PM2.5) may increase the risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Whether PM2.5 alters brain structure and accelerates the preclinical neuropsychological processes remains unknown. "
I'm sure air pollution is pretty bad for you but this seems statistically insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Great headline for New Yorkers who need something else to be afraid of.
Your quote is only from first half of the abstract... You haven't even quoted any statistics, where are you getting "statistically insignificant" from? The article itself shows that there is an association between AD and long-term PM2.5. See below for some actual statistical findings:
"In multilevel structural equation models, PM2.5 was associated with greater declines in immediate recall and new learning, but no association was found with decline in delayed-recall or composite scores. For each interquartile increment (2.81 μg/m3) of PM2.5, the annual decline rate was significantly accelerated by 19.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.9% to 36.2%] for Trials 1–3 and 14.8% (4.4% to 24.9%) for List B performance, adjusting for multiple potential confounders. Long-term PM2.5 exposure was associated with increased Alzheimer’s disease pattern similarity scores, which accounted for 22.6% (95% CI: 1% to 68.9%) and 10.7% (95% CI: 1.0% to 30.3%) of the total adverse PM2.5 effects on Trials 1–3 and List B, respectively. The observed associations remained after excluding incident cases of dementia and stroke during the follow-up, or further adjusting for small-vessel ischaemic disease volumes. Our findings illustrate the continuum of PM2.5 neurotoxicity that contributes to early decline of immediate free recall/new learning at the preclinical stage, which is mediated by progressive atrophy of grey matter indicative of increased Alzheimer’s disease risk, independent of cerebrovascular damage."
[+] [-] dfsegoat|6 years ago|reply
Broccoli sprout extract contains compounds which lead to the production of something called sulforaphane.
Sulforphane, a chemoprotective compound, has been shown to rapidly 'detoxify' the body of airborne pollutants and other carcinogens. [1,2,3]
Briefly:
>> In this subgroup analysis, the increases in the excretion of the mercapturic acids of benzene, acrolein, and crotonaldehyde for the broccoli sprout versus placebo group were +54.7% (+27.2%, +88.1%), +21.7% (+1.8%, 45.5%), and +2.0% (−13.7%, +20.4%), respectively.
1 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4125483/
2 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3276337/
3 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24287881
[+] [-] goda90|6 years ago|reply
[0]https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jafc.7b05913 [1]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23411305
[+] [-] unknown|6 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] adamch|6 years ago|reply
I wanna get ahead of that crowd this time and say: this doesn't make much sense as a problem for individuals to solve. We should instead be focused on measuring the problem (where is most of the pollution coming from) and passing legislation to drive it down.
Air pollution is localized and therefore easier to legislate around (because the people polluting and the people suffering are in the same legislature). Local and state-level laws can help here in a way that they can't for climate change (which requires more international coordination).
[+] [-] hombre_fatal|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] 11235813213455|6 years ago|reply
It's a bit ironic to think about buying air purifier/conditioners/filters.. which maybe lower very locally the pollution, but increase the global pollution (for making, delivering, maintaining, powering, recycling those devices)
[+] [-] abledon|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] equalunique|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cududa|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] drpgq|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] goda90|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lm28469|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cmauniada|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cmauniada|6 years ago|reply
I wonder if the best approach to regulating pollution is go from regulation and policy change or try to come up with solutions (startups) that tackle the problem directly...
[+] [-] alwaysanagenda|6 years ago|reply
The study: https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance-article-abstract/doi/...
>"Evidence suggests exposure to particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm (PM2.5) may increase the risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Whether PM2.5 alters brain structure and accelerates the preclinical neuropsychological processes remains unknown. "
I'm sure air pollution is pretty bad for you but this seems statistically insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Great headline for New Yorkers who need something else to be afraid of.
[+] [-] WhompingWindows|6 years ago|reply
"In multilevel structural equation models, PM2.5 was associated with greater declines in immediate recall and new learning, but no association was found with decline in delayed-recall or composite scores. For each interquartile increment (2.81 μg/m3) of PM2.5, the annual decline rate was significantly accelerated by 19.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.9% to 36.2%] for Trials 1–3 and 14.8% (4.4% to 24.9%) for List B performance, adjusting for multiple potential confounders. Long-term PM2.5 exposure was associated with increased Alzheimer’s disease pattern similarity scores, which accounted for 22.6% (95% CI: 1% to 68.9%) and 10.7% (95% CI: 1.0% to 30.3%) of the total adverse PM2.5 effects on Trials 1–3 and List B, respectively. The observed associations remained after excluding incident cases of dementia and stroke during the follow-up, or further adjusting for small-vessel ischaemic disease volumes. Our findings illustrate the continuum of PM2.5 neurotoxicity that contributes to early decline of immediate free recall/new learning at the preclinical stage, which is mediated by progressive atrophy of grey matter indicative of increased Alzheimer’s disease risk, independent of cerebrovascular damage."
[+] [-] unknown|6 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] VC999|6 years ago|reply