Now you have another major reason to add few florets of broccoli in your daily diet. It helps your bone joints. In a first major study regarding the impacts of eating broccoli on joint health and over all wellbeing, it has been found that a compound called sulforaphane in the vegetable the enzymes that cause joint destruction in osteoarthritis. The scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have been studying the benefits of broccoli in fighting joint degeneration. Till now it has been found to have benefits for cancer patients.

This £650,000 UEA project got funding from both Arthritis Research UK and the Diet and Health Research Industry Club (DRINC). The major research is on how the compound sulforaphane works to slow or prevent the development of osteoarthritis. It is a bioactive compound found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli. Eating this daily leads to high levels of the compound in the blood which work to keep the joints lubricated. The UEA research is now working to get the first patient trials. This is to find the safe and more effective osteoarthritis medication.

In the UK more than 6 million people who suffer from this debilitating disease. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease affecting older people that destroy the cartilage in the joints of hands, feet, spine, hips and knees. While there are pain killers prescribed for palliative effect but there are no real treatment to slow down or stop this degenerative disease. This new finding is giving hope to many doctors treating osteoarthritis. The project is expected to take three years before it can come out with a definitive report.

Medicine Arthritis