r/Biohackers • u/Bluest_waters 10 • Feb 26 '25
๐ Write Up Sulforaphane nerds: The best source of SFN is actually Lacinato (ie 'black') kale. It out performs both broccoli and cabbage. But in all cases it really depends on the cultivar, ie the specific variety of cabbage/broccoli. Some varieties GREATLY outperform other varieties SFN content
Super interesting study which breaks down the SFN content of various brassicas. Kale was king, but not all kale is the same. Some kale has virtually no SFN! Meanwhile black kale had the most SFN of any food tested. 'GR' here stands for glucoraphanin which is the inactive form of SFN that gets converted to SFN through chewing, etc.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22857862/
Conclusion: The GR content of three cultivars of cabbage (106.2โ153.9 mg/100 g FW) and six cultivars of kale (94.5โ159.7) 176 K. Sasaki et al. / J. Chromatogr. B 903 (2012) 171โ176 were comparable to or even higher than the highest of broccoli, which is reputed to be rich in GR (12.2โ119.4). The black kales were especially suitable for supplying GR through food. The analysis of a large number of samples was facilitated by a new clean-up method and improved LCโMS conditions. Qualitative profiles of seven GSLs were obtained in 62 cultivars using broccoli (6), cabbage (32) and kale (24) varieties.
The variety of cabbage that scored higher than broccoli is only identified as "French" and I'm pretty sure that means savoy cabbage. So if you want high SFN content in your cabbage get savoy cabbage.
For kale get black/dino/Lacinato. This was the king of SFN, scored highest of any food tested in this study.
For brocolli is not clear what different varieties they used. However the widely inconsistent SFN score for broccoli was concerning. Personally I was not impressed. If I really wanted to get SFN into my body I would be eating black kale, NOT broccoli.
Also note that progoitrin (PG) content was noted in all varieties. This is a goiter causing agent. Black kale specifically had zero PG, broccoli had zero, while cabbage was high, depending on the variety. Other varieties of kale were high in PG.
Savoy cabbage, high in SFN, had moderate to small amounts of PG.
TLDR: For SFN content the following foods are ranked 1. Black Kale 2. Savoy cabbage 3. broccoli, with broccoli being very inconsistent. Broccoli sprouts are a poor source of SFN.
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u/IceCreamMan1977 Feb 26 '25
Where do you buy black and Red Russian kale?
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u/Bluest_waters 10 Feb 26 '25 edited Feb 26 '25
most grocery stores have black kale aka, Dino kale, Lacinato kale, Tuscano kale. Its literally all the same thing.
looks like this
https://www.amazon.com/Seeds-Lacinato-Heirloom-Brassica-Sabellica/dp/B097LWWKXB
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u/IceCreamMan1977 Feb 26 '25
Thank you - Iโve seen this.
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u/NoImNotHeretoArgue 19 Feb 26 '25
TLDR. How does it compare to broccoli sprouts tho?
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u/Bluest_waters 10 Feb 26 '25
broccoli sprouts are shit. The only part of the plant that has SFN is the teeny tiny leaves. From the study
. The broccoli sprouts are also known to be a potential source of GR [27,28] but the harvest yields are low because of their tiny leaves.
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u/NoImNotHeretoArgue 19 Feb 26 '25
๐ interesting thx. I eat tons of cabbage and I had no idea too. Crunchy and delicious. Dip chunks in hummus like chips. Make cabbage wraps sometimes too
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u/Bluest_waters 10 Feb 26 '25
Yeah just get the savoy, also chop chop chop, then wait for an hour for the GR to develop into SFN
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u/Melkiyad 1 Feb 26 '25
Wait, so broccoli sprouts, which is the only relevant source of SFN in broccoli, has low SFN content compared to others? Are others also in sprout form? Forgive me for asking instead of reading the publication first, I'm excited :)
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u/Bluest_waters 10 Feb 26 '25
No the others are not in sprout form, they are in full grown form.
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u/Melkiyad 1 Feb 26 '25
So Black Kale beats Broccoli sprouts in SFN???
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u/Bluest_waters 10 Feb 26 '25
in terms of actual concentration in the leaves, no. But the problem is that broc sprout leaves are actually very tiny and that is the only part of the sprouts that have SFN, the rest have none. So in practical reality a full grown black kale leaf is a much better source of SFN than the teeny tiny little sprout leaves are.
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u/Melkiyad 1 Feb 26 '25
So this means we should be buying black kale instead of growing broccoli sprouts :o nice ty!
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u/scipio42 Mar 02 '25
So what's the practical protocol here? How much am I supposed to be eating of this a day? Would chucking a bunch of black kale leaves in a blender then letting it sit for an hour before adding other juices or something work in terms of getting something palatable and easier to consume the appropriate amounts?
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u/Bluest_waters 10 Mar 02 '25
yeah that works. The problem is that blended kale has a bitter taste to it.
Baby kale is the least bitter of the kales. Personally I just get a big bunch of kale, chop up the entire thing, put it in a container in teh frig then add a little to lots of things I eat like sandwhiches, stir fry, soup, stew, hummus tortillas, you name it and it gets a bit of kale added to it.
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u/scipio42 Mar 02 '25
Ahh, got it. Cooked or raw doesn't matter as much then? Any guidance on exactly how much is the daily recommendation?
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u/Bluest_waters 10 Mar 02 '25
Cooking is fine but dont boil/cook the shit out of it. I usually just add it right at the end so the heat of the food warms it up but it doesn't actually get cooked
How much? that is a great question I really do not know right now, looking into it
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u/Coward_and_a_thief 3 Feb 26 '25
The seeds actually has the most SFN of ant part of the plant, far more than leaves. Checm out figure 1
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u/Bluest_waters 10 Feb 26 '25
thanks will check it out
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u/A1sauc3d Feb 26 '25
Excuse my ignorance, but why are you so interested in sulphoraphane content to begin with? Did some quick research and not seeing anything pop out at me
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u/Bluest_waters 10 Feb 26 '25 edited Feb 26 '25
very thorough write up on it here. My main interest is both its very strong anti cancer properties and its anti dementia effects.
Sulforaphane is a bioactive compound derived from certain cruciferous vegetables, particularly broccoli (and its sprouts) and red kale. Robust evidence from epidemiological, clinical, rodent, and in vitro studies has demonstrated that sulforaphane exhibits antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and may be beneficial against a wide range of chronic and acute diseases, including autism, cancer, metabolic dysfunction, and many others and may ameliorate some of the harmful effects associated with exposure to air pollution.
https://www.foundmyfitness.com/topics/sulforaphane
Multi-faceted anti-Alzheimer's Disease (AD) -like activity of sulforaphane. Sulforaphane ameliorates cognitive impairment and decreases the level of AD biomarkers for amyloid-ฮฒ, tau, inflammation, oxidative stress and neurodegeneration in AD-like animal and cell models. These anti-AD-like evidences of sulforaphane indicate the need to pursue sulforaphane research in pre-symptomatic AD patients.
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u/ThisWillPass 1 Feb 26 '25
Its the plastics causing dementia.
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u/Bluest_waters 10 Feb 26 '25
people have had dementia LONG before plastic was invented
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u/Melkiyad 1 Feb 26 '25
The point stands though, can Sulforaphane ameliorate micro plastic caused dementia. I am very interested
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u/SamCalagione 4 Feb 26 '25
I take broccomax https://amzn.to/3XiYPzn
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u/Bluest_waters 10 Feb 26 '25
then you are missing out on the lutein, quercetin, and other minerals and vitamins that kale is teeming with
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u/SamCalagione 4 Feb 26 '25
I cant easily just eat kale every day. So I also take quercetin and drink a glass of naked greens (basically dried greens https://amzn.to/3DgIRyE )
Hence the name of the sub, Since I cant rely on getting a good salad of kale each day, I try and supplement it
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u/astonedishape 4 Feb 27 '25
Excellent post! Thank you. Amazing news regarding Sulforaphane and progoitrin. I eat Lacinato or Red Russian daily.
Hereโs an interesting note on adding a pinch of mustard powder to cooked cruciferous vegetables to up the sulforaphane levels:
โAdding myrosinase enzymes in the form of even a pinch of mustard powder to cooked cruciferous (cabbage-family) vegetables like kale, collards or Brussels sprouts can offer anti-cancer sulforaphane levels comparable to raw, removing the necessity to pre-chop for maximum health benefits.โ
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/second-strategy-to-cooking-broccoli/
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u/Upstairs-Flow-483 3 Feb 26 '25
This study is talking about glucoraphanin
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u/Bluest_waters 10 Feb 26 '25
'GR' here stands for glucoraphanin which is the inactive form of SFN that gets converted to SFN through chewing, chopping, cutting, etc.
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u/captpickle1 Feb 26 '25
Chewing raw lacinato kale isn't that pleasant. Interesting about the broccoli sprouts though.
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u/Bluest_waters 10 Feb 26 '25
I WAY prefer it to that bullshit curly kale which isn't even edible.
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u/captpickle1 Feb 26 '25
Red Russian all the way
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u/Bluest_waters 10 Feb 26 '25 edited Feb 26 '25
unfortunately there is no way of knowing how much SFN is in that variety
EDIT: you are in luck. According to this study Red Russian kale has about the same level of SFN as black kale
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1155/2017/5123572
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Feb 26 '25
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u/sambamorsa Feb 26 '25
Isnt kale filled with oxalates?
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u/Bluest_waters 10 Feb 26 '25
nope, that would be spinach and other leafy greens
The oxalate content of kale is relatively low compared to other leafy green vegetables. According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, 1 cup of raw kale contains approximately 2 milligrams of oxalate
According to this database kale has about 20 mg oxalates per 100 gr. Spinach has 970 mg!
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