It is common knowledge that broccoli is good for you, but recent studies suggest that it may even help with autism symptoms. Broccoli is known for it’s high vitamin D, and fiber, but could it be capable of helping with autism?

Autism speaks defines autism as “Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors.” Autism can generally impair motor skills, sleeping, visual skills, music, math, art, and attention. Nearly 1 in every 68 children are born each year in the US with autism, nearly affecting 3 million Americans. The cause of autism is still unknown, but recently it has been known to be associated with rare or mutated genes. A lot exogenous factors such as the child’s environment have been known to increase children’s risk as well. Both the cause and the cure are unknown.

Fox News reported a study that sulfraphane, a photochemical that can be found in broccoli, cauliflower, and other vegetables, can help with the symptoms of Autism. The study was conducted with 44 younger men with autism ranging from ages 13-30. Each participant was placed into one of three groups, two received a sulforaphane and another received a placebo. The study was a double-blind placebo, the caretakers for the participant were unaware which drug they were receiving. For the duration of the study, two surveys were completed with each participant weekly. One of the surveys was given to the subject’s caregiver and assessed their child’s behavior. The other survey was given to the caregiver on their child’s physical behavior. Throughout the study, the subjects given the sulforaphane improved their behavior 17-34%. An end of the study another survey was conducted and those that took the sulforaphane improved their social behavior 46%, aberrant behavior 54%, and verbal communication 42%. On the other hand, the control group saw no improvement. The researches followed up with the 22 participants that took the sulforaphane four weeks after they had stopped taking the sulforaphane, and the improvement had since stopped. The researchers also claimed that the subjects took concentrated sulforaphane, one would have to consume very large amounts of broccoli to obtain the amount that the participants were given.

Overall, I thought that the study was well conducted. It being a double blind placebo, that eliminated any biased results. I thought that study also ruled out any reverse causations and confounding variables. Although sulforaphane isn’t a direct cure for autism, it is a definite step in the right direction.