The (healthy) biology of broccoli

No one thinks broccoli is cool. But broccoli’s biochemistry is actually pretty interesting. Broccoli contains several health-promoting compounds. Glucoraphanin, myrosinase and sulforaphane are key compounds involved in broccoli’s cellular health benefits.¹

Myrosinase actually helps turn glucoraphanin into cell-health-promoting sulforaphane. What’s interesting is that broccoli’s physical makeup separates glucoraphanin and myrosinase compounds from each other by keeping myrosinase in a separate compartment. That’s why chopped raw broccoli has greater benefits than whole sprouts (and why chewing is important as well!).

Innovative partitioned and enteric-coated tablet

So why not just pack a softgel full of sulforaphane? Because the compound is unstable. To enjoy the cellular health benefits of broccoli, you have to get the active compounds in broccoli to metabolize into as much sulforaphane as possible and do so inside your digestive system.²

Life Extension has separated myrosinase from glucoraphanin in a dual-layered tablet to optimize glucoraphanin-to-sulforaphane conversion. By keeping the two apart until they’re in your stomach, we’ve optimized the amount of sulforaphane you can get from a broccoli extract supplement. We also added additional myrosinase to help boost sulforaphane production even further.

Watercress, rosemary and more

In addition to broccoli, plants like watercress and rosemary provide phytonutrients such as glucosinolates, isothiocyanates, carnosic acid and carnosol—active compounds that promote healthy estrogen metabolism and cell division.^3,4 Cabbage extract provides benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) that also helps maintain cell health.⁵

DIM (diindolylmethane)

Lastly, this formula contains DIM (diindolylmethane), a compound shown to favorably modulate estrogen metabolism and support liver health.^6,7 When we eat cruciferous vegetables, our body naturally produces very small amounts of DIM in the gut. DIM also supports healthy cell division and helps protect cells when they are exposed to xenoestrogens (estrogen-like environmental compounds).^8,9