Cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli anyone?

The MIND diet we discussed last time has a warm spot for cruciferous vegetables, like kale, cauliflower, bok choy, and others.  They get their name from the cruciform shape of their flowers.  They are interesting to us, because a chemical called sulforaphane is produced when they are cooked.  What's so great about sulforaphane?  It just may be able to remove beta amyloid and aberrant tau protein from the Alzheimer's brain.  At least it seems to in mice.

We regularly encounter Alzheimer's research using mice with very promising results.  However, we've also emphasized that mice are not people, and enthusiasm over research results with mice often don't live up to their promise when the same tests are conducted with humans.

The mice used in research have their genetic code modified such that their brains produce the beta amyloid and tau proteins that appear in human patients with Alzheimer's disease.  We call these "transgenic mice."  Apparently as a consequence, the mice also experience cognitive decline.  We also find that removing the amyloid plaques and performing other activities that affect the presence of amyloids and tau proteins can influence their cognition.  We expect this in the case of Alzheimer's disease, but the mice do not actually get Alzheimer's disease.  Only humans get Alzheimer's disease.  So Alzheimer's research with mice is always suspect.

My friend Jim sent me two journal articles on research with mice and sulforaphane.  One was from the January 2018 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, and the other was from the June 2018 issue of Molecular Nutrition and Food Research.  In both cases, treatment with sulforaphane was associated with clearing the abnormal amyloids and tau proteins.  The mice were transgenic to imitate Alzheimer's disease, but their cognition remained consistent with non-transgenic mice as they aged.

How did the sulforaphane pull this off?  Recall that the main thrust of the MIND diet is to control the twin apocalyptic horsemen of Alzheimer's disease, inflammation and oxidation.  And sulforaphane goes after both of them.  Which is probably why Dr. Martha Clare Morris's research found such a prominent place for broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables in the MIND diet.

So eat your vegetables.