A WEXFORD GROWER has discovered a method for extracting juice from broccoli sprouts without destroying nutrients that have been shown to prevent and fight cancer and other health problems.

Broccoli sprouts have been described as a “super-food” as they are loaded with about 100 times the nutrients of a fully-grown broccoli plant. They have been shown to offer a host of health benefits to those who consume it every day, according to owner of Vegus Juices Michael Reynolds.

Reynolds said that before he created a new pressure method to extract juice, raw sprouts had a short shelf-life and required constant refrigeration which resulted in limited distribution and uneconomical production costs. He said Vegus’s method now ensures juices are produced from raw broccoli sprouts and are shelf-stable, so they do not require refrigeration.

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The concentrated nature of anti-oxidants Sulphurophane Glucosinolate (SGS) and isothiocyanates contained in broccoli sprouts have made them the “holy grail” for juice producers, according to Reynolds – whose company already produces wheatgrass juice.

“Broccoli sprouts are termed a super-food because of their health properties but they don’t keep well – so people have being trying to crack how to make a juice from them for years now,” he said. “The problem in the past was that heating the juice to kill bacteria also destroyed anti-oxidants and taste. Our unique method was developed by the US military for ready-made meals and uses high pressure without heat”.

The health benefits of SGS and broccoli sprouts have been outlined in several studies. Eating broccoli sprouts every day has been linked to slowed tumour growth and a 40 per cent reduction in the level of the infection of the Helicobacter pylori bacteria, which causes stomach ulcers that can lead to stomach cancer, said Reynolds.

Broccoli sprouts have also been found to be useful in preventing or treating heart disease, cancer, macular degeneration, stomach ulcers, Alzheimers’ and cardiovascular disease.

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