After watching Dr. Rhonda Patrick’s podcast interview with Dr. Jed Fahey (Johns Hopkins University), I was compelled to begin growing my own broccoli sprouts.
Broccoli sprouts yield an incredible chemical called sulforaphane, which is associated with anti-aging, reducing fat, and cancer prevention. (For a more detailed overview of sulforaphane, and how it’s produced with the help of glucoraphanin and myrosinase, check out this article).
With much enthusiasm, I went straight to Amazon to piece together the equipment needed to grow these tasty strands of nuclear nutrition at home.
That’s when I realized what a colossal pain in the arse it is… (haha, sorry Rhonda).
It involves buying six glass sprouting jars and routinely filling/replacing the water inside every 4-6 hours. This is necessary to prevent the growth of bacteria. Cycling the planting process (Jar-1 on Sunday, Jar-2 on Monday, Jar-3 on Tuesday, etc) helps if you plan on having fresh sprouts ready each day — although you can freeze them.
That’s when my interest in sprouts got dwarfed by my disinterest in setting timers day and night. Plus I wasn’t thrilled about leaving sprouting jars all over the kitchen.
So I thought, hey, I’ll just buy organic sprouts from the grocery store!
Not so fast… Guess how easy it is for E. coli to contaminate sprouts when they sit stagnant on improperly sanitized shelves… Super easy. Since I’m the type of guy who still hasn’t gone back to Chipotle even though their diarrhea debacle ended in 2015, I decided to pass on those store-bought sprouts.
Then I recalled something Dr. Fahey said in the interview: Broccoli seeds contain more sulforaphane than broccoli sprouts (which already have at least 20x the sulforaphane as actual broccoli).
I make smoothies every day, so why not add broccoli seeds to the mix and get my daily dose of sulforaphane that way?
Looking around online, I couldn’t really find anything about whether or not this would work. So I made myself the guinea pig and did some experimenting.
I bought these broccoli seeds. Upon arrival, they reminded me of whole peppercorn kernels. So they needed to be crushed. Since I don’t own a coffee grinder, I used my VitaMix.
A teaspoon of broccoli seeds doesn’t reach the blades, so I added about six ounces of water. That certainly did the trick.
After pulverizing the seeds, you’re left with a frothy cream-colored liquid with a slight green tinge. It smells pleasantly nutty. Not at all pungent, which I was expecting.
Dr. Patrick is careful to remind listeners that the existing research on sulforaphane has only involved broccoli sprouts — not seeds. So she’s openly unsure whether the broccoli seeds would yield the same benefits as organic broccoli sprouts. I suspect she’ll conduct a few experiments with broccoli seeds in the future, and share her results. I’ll update this article if/when that happens.
Until then, I can report no unwanted side effects from personally consuming the crushed seeds. I’ve even had them plain, in just an 8-ounce glass of water. They taste slightly nutty, but otherwise it’s surprisingly easy to drink.
If you want to take a deep dive into the importance of sulforaphane and the Nrf2 pathway as it relates to anti-aging and cancer prevention, here’s the full interview I mentioned:
UPDATE:
I asked Rhonda Patrick about whether or not she has tried blending raw broccoli seeds. Here’s her response (dated 6/11/2017):
“Sprouting reduces the amount of anti-nutrient known as erucic acid. This is mentioned in the FAQ at the Cullman Chemoprotection Center. For that reason, I still sprout. Consumption of the sprouts has been studied a lot more.”
Here’s a screen grab of the specific question from the Cullman Center website:
A Chiropractor's Opinion 
29 Comments
Great article, I have been looking for more information on broccoli seeds. Do you know how much of sulforaphane in 1 teaspoon of broccoli seeds? How much do we need per day?
Thank you.
Hi Jen, I don’t have that information at this time. As soon as the data becomes available to me, I’ll share it here.
One gram of broccoli seeds has about 36 mg of sulforaphane.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268873117_Biochemical_composition_of_broccoli_seeds_and_sprouts_at_different_stages_of_seedling_development#:~:text=The%20sulforaphane%20content%20in%20seeds,high%20potential%20as%20functional%20food.
See links about erucic acid content of broccoli seeds. Level is only about 1/4 the allowable limit. Salmon has more, in fact.
https://surfaceyourrealself.com/2020/07/19/caution-on-broccoli-seed-erucic-acid-content/
https://surfaceyourrealself.com/2020/07/20/politically-correct-about-erucic-acid-and-broccoli-seeds/
empirically…
It should be the same number of seed which is used for 140 gr of 5 day old Broccoli sprouts.
Before blending, seed could be soaked over the night to make the shell a bit softer.
Thanks for experimenting with this and sharing! I too have been making sprout smoothies inspired by Rhonda for a few months now. I don’t mind the sprouting but if seeds work even better, that would definitely be preferable to use. I hope Rhonda does a podcast on this soon! I am also concerned that making my smoothies at night and consuming them the next day might mean less sulforophane is still present.
Hi Shannonleighdiy, my understanding is that you have about two hours after blending or grinding in a mortar. After that the sulforaphane will be lost. It is a highly reactive and unstable chemical, it’s only purpose in nature is to poison insects attacking the plant.
I too would like to start including broccoli sprouts into my diet but growing them sounds like a hassle. The grinding of the seeds in my coffee grinder would be much easier. How much should I consume daily and weekly? Any help would be great! Thanks for all the helpful info.
Sean, I haven’t found any specific recommendations for an exact amount. I personally use 1/2 tsp daily, but have used as much as a full teaspoon in the past.
Thanks for the follow up. I had the same question after I saw that interview. Yes sprouting can be a pain in the arse 😊
Great article. You mentioned not suffering any adverse effects of eating the raw seeds – how noticed any benefits? Thanks.
I’ve been taking 1 tsp, for the last 3 months. I mix it in my smoothy. Unfortunately, thanks to Dr. Rhonda, I take so many things that I would never be able to say which if any side effects would come from it.
I’ve been reading Dr. Longo’s book, I’m thinking to scale down quite a bit everything, really simplify and only then start adding one thing at a time.
This is a great site, great forum!
Not a bad idea, Gavin. I might give that a try myself. Dry seeds worked fine for me though.
I rinse the seeds 2-3 times a day and have no problems doing it that way. I have only 2 jars going at a time and it’s not a big deal. I don’t use timers, I just do it upon waking, upon going to bed, and one other time during the day.
I do have a coffee grinder and am going to try grinding the seeds for an alternative, but so far not minding making the sprouts at all. I think maybe you went overboard in doing 6 jars and rinsing so many times a day. Burnout happens when one gets too enthusiastic.
do you need to crush the seeds to have the effects?or can you just eat them round like that?thanks
I let my Vitamix do all the work.
Great Article! I have been eating all kinds of sprouts and micro greens for quite a few years now after watching Dr. Fahey on the Today Show with Matt Lauer. At that time he was promoting Broccoli Sprouts. I have to say, people tell me I look about 15 years younger than my age (I’m 55) and at my last class reunion everyone asked what I was doing or taking. Unfortunately, Broccoli sprouts were hard to find around that time. There were no Whole Foods stores in every city, so I had to grow my own. I even bought my broccoli seeds at Home Depot. Haha! I grew them in a plain white tray and used a thin layer of potting soil for quite a while before switching to a sprouting matt. I grew wheat grass and quite a few other sprouts as well. I’ve always loved the spicy taste of broccoli sprouts. They taste similar to Wasabi, which I’m addicted to eating with my sushi and soy sauce. Anyway, while preparing the seeds for sprouting I threw a few of the seeds in my mouth to see what they tasted like. The taste wasn’t all that different to me than eating the sprouts. So I started adding the seeds to my salads to spice them up a bit. I love the extra little crunch and texture they give my salads too. So I’ve never experienced any side effects from doing this. I feel amazing, have zero health problems, and I can even eat ice cream and have a few other cheats every day and not put on any body fat. It’s pretty ridiculous, because all four of my brothers are overweight and eat very similar diets. So I found this site after hearing the seeds may be harmful to eat and wanted to do some research, but that hasn’t been my experience. I probably use about a teaspoon of seeds on my salads. For convenience I did find a broccoli sprout supplement to take and I really like it, because it has some other nutrients in it I was already taking each day as well, like Turmeric root. I get a pretty good buzz from it. The company Nutrux also claims they have an extraction technique that removes the fatty acid people on here are talking about. I guess that means they use the seeds since they are higher in all this stuff. It’s still pretty spicy, so I don’t know how they do it. I also like that it comes as a pumpkin spice latte powder and I was able to replace my coffee with it in the morning. It tastes pretty awesome to be honest. Last time I checked they had a vanilla chai flavor as well, but I haven’t tried that one yet. Best bet, eat the seeds. They are addicting after a while and seem to be a huge factor on aging.
I too haven’t found much on seeds. I have been grinding them in a pepper mill, or just in a mortar and pestle for a year or more now. I like the taste and just load them on like pepper. I add mustard seed too, as in the interview it was mentioned mustard help the production of Sulphurafane and that seeds contained more of the cofactor than sprouts. It was Also mentioned that people didn’t like the taste of seeds, but that’s not the case with me. I fell in love with sprouts years ago due to the spicy flavor. I get that same flavor with seeds, just not the refreshing crunch of water rich sprouts.
Interesting article. Here’s some info I gathered: Sulforaphane is highly unstable and so broccoli stores its stable precursor, glucoraphanin (GR). That is acted upon by myrosinase to form sulforaphane when the plant is cut/crushed/eaten.
How much GR do broccoli seeds contain? See this article:
h**ps://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/jf0307189
The median GR content across several varieties seems to be about 80 micro-moles per gram of seed. The molecular weight of GR is 437g, so that works out at 35 milligrams/g.
Just how much of that gets converted into sulforaphane is anyone’s guess, but you can help that process by spiking your seed with 1g brown mustard powder which contains a load of myrosinase: h**ps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29806738
As for the potential anti-nutrients in the raw broccoli seeds, I have no idea, but I’m going to risk it.
Thank you for the information re: seeds. I am interested in reversing some high blood sugar levels. Research leads to insulin resistance which seems to be tied to air pollutants that cause inflammation of the blood vessels. The anti-oxidant properties of Sulforaphane, in combination with some other items is reported to help reverse this process (see Hakli plan). I don’t like the taste of broccoli so I am searching for alternatives. I found a few good smoothies that incorporate broccoli. They aren’t bad, but it is hard to cover up the taste of a cup of raw broccoli in a single serving of a smoothie. I am not disciplined enough to grow sprouts everyday, so I was thinking seeds. I will be trying them out, as well. I am bookmarking this page, too, so I can follow along. Thanks, again.
What if you soak the seeds overnight prior to consuming them like you do with nuts and beans. Will this release and get rid of the anti-nutrient enzymes? What do you think guys???
I also took the broccoli sprout ” Right of Passage” resulting in a kitchen filled with an assortment of random bottles and jars tilting precariously over the sink to drain. I swiftly discovered that my initial enthusiasm faded astonishingly quickly as I realised what a bother it is to sprout my own broccoli seeds, so it was back to Google. I soon found I could “buy” capsules of organic broccoli sprout powder so I rather guilty ( feeling like a cheat and a failure ) sent for some. As I hunted for more information on sulforaphane and broccoli seeds I found I could also ” buy” cold pressed, organic broccoli seed oil, so I have sent for a bottle, along with a small bottle of cold pressed, organic mustard oil for good measure!. I am currently waiting for delivery and wondering how much oil to take? I was so pleased to find this post as I have struggled to
source good information on sulforaphane and broccoli seeds ( hoping to discover whether I can put my sprouting jars away! ) so far my sprouts have been going moldy overnight and so i,’ve been sticking to the capsules of broccoli sprout powder that I originally bought. Thanks to everyone who has commented on this post it has been so informative, and especially “Thank You” to the original poster Dr Adam Tanase, I will be following replies closely. As someone has already said, ” Great Article”.🙂
Violet McGregor vmcgregor@shaw.ca. I love broccoli sprouts but have recently been adding raw broccoli seeds into my morning oat meal. I don’t crush them & maybe I’m taking too much, but I’m getting stomach pains daily & suspect it’s the broccoli seeds?
Great article! I have been making broccoli sprouts for a while now. But it is a chore! Would blending a big batch of broccoli sprouts into a smoothie, freezing it into ice cubes, and creating a daily smoothie out of them work? Is already-formed sulforaphane stable enough to withstand prolonged freezing?
That does work as freezing only makes sulforaphane more available by breaking open plant cells and freezing maintains the freshness.
Neurologist, Dr. David Perlmutter (who follows research-based practices) recommends using Broccoli SEEDS in this smoothie recipe: https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/neurologists-apple-pie-smoothie-recipe?inf_contact_key=0f5dc319380c92a0dc674d9b4f81f4350f4081204f40fabd44f4788ebf57ced1
I have not yet read his latest book (on uric acid), just published, but it may likely cover nutrient benefits of broccoli seeds and other nutrients in above recipe.
April 24, 2022
Everyone, what a fantastic range of comments and input. Does anyone out there have any negative or adverse side effects on ingesting, per day, 1 teaspoon of ground up broccoli seeds mixed into any substance, i.e. a smoothie, salad, water, yogurt etc.?
Further does anyone have any medically documented improvements in their health attributed to the consumption of these seeds? Like reduced blood pressure, reduced PSA readings, cancer fighting improvements, inflammation changes etc.
I am seeking solid input as I have just start consuming these seeds myself. Thank you for your input.
I have been grinding 25g of broccoli seeds in a coffee grinder and consuming the powder every day for the last two years in my morning green juice. I watched Rhonda Patrick’s interview with Jed Fahey, and, like Dr. Tanase, I had been struck by Fahey’s comment that there was more glucorphanin in seeds than in sprouts. Prior to that, I had been laboriously growing sprouts. Grinding seeds was so easy in comparison–it seems an obvious shortcut. I have no idea how much sulforaphane I am actually consuming in my smoothie. Maybe little or none! Glucoraphanin and myrosinase must be present and allowed to react within a certain temperature range for a certain length of time before one can meaningfully talk about sulforaphane content. I am very anxious to find out if I am wasting my time. There is apparently much variability in the GR content of different cultivars of broccoli. My seed is “Calabrese”, which supposedly contains 10-40mg GR per 100g, quite a wide range. I am surprised that more research has not been done on this, especially considering the passionate interest that many people have in maximizing their sulforaphane consumption.
Rhonda Patrick gives as the main reason for not consuming unsprouted broccoli seeds the fact that they contain erucic acid. At the same time, she recommends adding ground mustard seed to cooked broccoli for the myrosinase they contain. Mustard seeds contain far higher levels of erucic acid than broccoli seeds. According to the USDA FoodData Central database, the erucic acid content in mustard seed oil is approximately 22-50%, while the erucic acid content in broccoli seed oil is only around 0.3-1.4%. In addition, according to Wikipedia, the reported toxic effects of erucic acid were originally found through rat studies, and rats have a much greater sensitivity to erucic acid toxicity than other species. Toxic effects have not been confirmed in humans.