The recent news out of Johns Hopkins University supports what your mother has been telling you all this time - eat your broccoli!  In addition to being one of the most nutritious foods out there, it turns out that it might very well help prevent the incidence of stomach cancer.

In a small pilot study conducted in Japan and published in Cancer Prevention Research, researchers found that when people infected with the Heliobacteria pylori (H. pylori), which infects the stomach lining, ate just two and a half ounces of broccoli sprouts each day, it actually reduced the detectable signs of the bacteria. H. pylori has been classified as a carcinogen by the World Health Foundation.

Besides it’s cancer causing qualities, H. pylori has also been implicated in of a whole host of other maladies, including gastritis and gastric ulcers. In fact, a vast majority of ulcers are now attributed to the bacteria.

It is believed that broccoli might have beneficial qualities against H. pylori because it is rich in sulforaphane, a natural compound that that is known to have antibiotic qualities against H. pylori, with the young sprouts having higher levels than the mature plant. Sulforaphane also seem to trigger certain reactions in the gut that help to combat carcinogenic free radicals and reduce inflammation.

The doctors are quick to point out that eating broccoli was not a cure for either cancer or H. pylori infection. Furthermore, due to the small size of the study, more work needed to be done, including ongoing studies in animal models, before any conclusions can could be made.

Even still, their “demonstration of principle” was intriguing. Interestingly, when the study subjects stopped eating the sprouts, the levels of H. pylori seemed to return to pre-study levels, as measured by each person’s level of the bacterial protein, HpSA, indicating that the broccoli sprouts did no completely eradicate the bacteria.

Broccoli is members of the cruciferous vegetable family, all of which are rich in sulforaphanes, though broccoli and cauliflower sprouts have particularly high levels. Included in this group are kale, collared greens, cabbage, and one of my personal favorites, brussel sprouts.

So the next time that you’re at the store, stock up on your greens. All it takes is a little steaming and some butter or salt to make a tasty, not to mention healthy, addition to any meal.

And you never know, your stomach just might feel a little better.

Editor's Note: This article was included in the Cancer Research Blog Carnival!