Standard Process Inc. Whole Food Supplements Since 1929.
Research Updates
R&D Studies Health Benefits of Cruciferous Vegetables
Kale
Diet has an indisputable effect on health–just ask any sailor who's been at sea without fruits or vegetables. Scurvy, once a scourge of the seafarer, is now a footnote thanks to keen observers who compared sailors who had access to vitamin C with sailors who did not. By looking at those who developed scurvy and those who didn't, it was possible to theorize about the cause of the disease.
Today, relationships between things like food and health are studied on a large scale by epidemiologists. These studies, while not conclusive, can show a number of important relationships between life choices and health.
Standard Process' research and development team is working on a variety of research studies to clarify the relationship between whole foods and whole food supplements. We've published papers examining the active compounds in cruciferous plants and their effect on the activity of detoxification enzymes1 and on the modification of the inflammatory response2. Also, a preliminary series of clinical observations using Cruciferous Complete TM was recently published in the journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine (March/April 2009). It examined the effect of dried, organic Brussels sprouts and kale on how estrogen is processed, and found that estrogen processing had improved. Because this shift demonstrates that supplements may cause health-promoting changes, the authors suggested this study be replicated with a larger, more controlled sample.
To pursue this theory, and add to our body of knowledge, we initiated a second study to verify these results. The study, Cruciferous Complete and Estrogen Metabolism in Healthy Premenopausal Women, is now complete and the data are currently being analyzed. We are looking forward to sharing the results with our Standard Process customers and the scientific community as soon as they're available.