Broccoli May Offer Vascular Protection to People with Diabetes
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"I do not like broccoli. And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I'm President of the United States and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli.” - Ex-President George H. W. Bush
Little did Mr. Bush know at that time how important broccoli may be to people with diabetes. A compound called sulforaphane has been found in broccoli by researchers at the University of Warwick. This compound seems to have protective benefits for blood vessel damage caused by high glucose levels in people with diabetes. It is believed that sulforaphane causes a protein to become activated which then protects cells and tissues from damage. Damaged blood vessels increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular disease by five fold in people with diabetes
I am not surprised with these findings. Vegetables seem to be able to counter diabetes in many ways...while I don't understand all the science you refer to in your post, I do know that they are a valuable 'filler' that keeps people from eating too many empty calories. Also of course starches and natural sugars are much healthier than the refined content you find in junk food -- a major contributor to the diabetes epidemic. Do you know if sulfoaphane has been used as a drug for treatment of diabetes? Perhaps it could be extracted from vegetables and administed to people who don't follow Mom's advice and don't eat their veggies.
I have not seen Sulforophane used as a "drug" for diabetes but I have seen it as part of a nutritional supplement used to enhance the immune system. Maybe it will be isolated and tested and used alone one day for diabetes.