TV GP Dr Hilary Jones says we should all be getting more of a powerful compound found naturally in some vegetables that can help cut heart disease, dementia, cancer, and type-2 diabetes. Collectively, the diseases cause more than two-thirds of all deaths in the UK.
Dr Hilary has launched the Boost Britain’s Metabolic Health Campaign to highlight the need to protect the nation from these killers by helping people take simple steps to improve their metabolic health, centred around a little-known compound, sulforaphane, found naturally in cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower and Brussel sprouts. Its best source is broccoli.
Dr Hilary said: “Our metabolism converts food into energy and creates the building blocks we need to repair our bodies, grow, and thrive. When this process malfunctions, our bodies become prone to chronic inflammation, internal imbalances like high blood sugar or cholesterol levels and weight gain. This dramatically increases our risk of serious health conditions, jeopardising our lives and health.
“Smoking, alcohol, being overweight and eating the wrong foods can all damage our metabolism but another cause is simply time. As we age, our metabolism naturally becomes less efficient. This is one reason why it gets harder to stay slim and why our risk of things like heart disease, dementia, cancer, and type-2 diabetes increases with age.”
Dr Hilary recommends that whilst it’s important to have a healthy diet and to take exercise you can help your metabolism by giving it a boost of sulforaphane. A government-funded super broccoli called GRextra is now available in SmarterNaturally soup which provides your body with a high level of the compound that can lower blood sugar and cholesterol and could help weight loss.
Sulforaphane turns on anti-oxidant genes in our cells which can help maintain a healthier metabolism, particularly as we age. These genes are regulated by the protein NRF2, involved in blood sugar control. Stored sugar is drawn out of the body and we are prevented from laying down more sugar, so that blood glucose levels are lowered when high levels of sulforaphane are consumed weekly.
Dr Hilary has become an Independent Advisor to SmarterNaturally. The special broccoli was discovered growing wild in Sicily by professor Richard Mithen. After more than four decades of research, it’s now available to people looking to stay healthier as they get older.
GP Dr Kingsley Betts said: “There is growing scientific evidence that a diet rich in sulforaphane can help reduce oxidative stress and when eaten weekly for 4-6 months potentially has lots of general health benefits, which include improved blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, prostate and other organ health. It could even help the ageing process.”
GP Dr Karen Irvine said: “Most pre-diabetics are simply told to change their diet and take more exercise, but figures show that compliance is low and that 20% go on to develop diabetes within 5 years. So, if we can use a simple food product, that tastes good and needs to be eaten just once a week to reduce the risk of populations developing Type 2 diabetes, it can have a hugely positive impact on the individual and society worldwide.”
