The Blood Sugar Breakthrough HIDING in Your Garden
More than 97 million Americans are living with prediabetes.
That number alone is shocking—but it gets worse.
It’s estimated that 90 percent of those with this condition don’t know they have it. This leaves them at a high risk of developing type-2 diabetes.
However, researchers recently discovered that a potent compound in broccoli sprouts can lower blood sugar levels, offering an exciting natural approach to managing this far-too-common condition.
Prediabetes is when your blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not yet high enough to be diagnosed with type-2 diabetes.
With more than one-third of U.S. adults battling this condition, which often progresses to full-blown type-2 diabetes, we need more tools to turn the tide on this growing problem.
Scientists say one of those solutions is sulforaphane, a compound hidden in several tasty foods, including broccoli sprouts.
When researchers tested the potent compound in a carefully controlled study at the University of Gothenburg, they found that participants taking sulforaphane supplements experienced significant improvements in fasting blood sugar levels compared to a placebo.
The study also revealed that certain people responded exceptionally well to the broccoli compound. The best results were seen in volunteers who had
- early signs of mild age-related diabetes,
- carried less excess weight,
- and had specific gut bacteria that could interact with sulforaphane.
In these “super responders,” the reduction in blood sugar was more than three times greater than the average participant’s improvement.
The gut-bacteria connection is particularly intriguing because it highlights how interconnected our systems are. The researchers found that Bacteroides, a group of bacteria commonly living in our gut, activate the sulforaphane, making it more effective at lowering blood sugar.
You can nurture a healthy environment where beneficial gut bacteria, including Bacteroides, thrive by eating more fiber-rich, plant-based foods, as well as fermented foods (such as kimchi and sauerkraut).
However, as exciting as these results are, sulforaphane alone isn’t a cure. Instead, this compound can be a powerful part of a comprehensive approach to managing prediabetes—along with regular exercise, healthy eating, and maintaining a healthy weight.
If you’d like to add more sulforaphane to your diet, broccoli sprouts are the richest natural source of the compound. Other good sources include broccoli, kale, Bok choy, turnips, watercress, cauliflower, horseradish, and radish sprouts.
If you still aren’t eating enough sulforaphane-rich foods, supplements are also available. Just be sure to consult your doctor before starting on any new supplement.
In a country where diabetes prevention is becoming increasingly crucial, this natural compound from a common vegetable offers hope for a powerful new tool in our diabetes prevention toolkit.
P.S. The blood sugar warning EVERYONE should hear.
View Sources
Dwibedi, C., Axelsson, A. S., Abrahamsson, B., et al., (2025). Effect of broccoli sprout extract and baseline gut microbiota on fasting blood glucose in prediabetes: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Nature Microbiology, 1-13.
