Named ingredient helps to cope with diabetes “super soup”: reduces sugar levels

The British press is hyping the benefits of a broccoli “super soup” that its creators claim can help treat type 2 diabetes. Imagine eating a bowl of soup once a week, which can help lower your blood sugar and thus lower your risk of type 2 diabetes.

The secret, according to the “authors” of the healthy soup, lies in a special variety of broccoli, first discovered by the company’s leading scientist, Professor Richard Miten, which grows wild in Sicily. After years of research and plant breeding, the company behind this “super soup” has developed a new variety of broccoli called GRextra, which it grows and processes into soup in Scotland.

Cruciferous vegetables, which include broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, naturally contain a compound called glucoraphanin, according to The Guardian. Once this chemical enters the gut, it is converted into an active form called sulforaphane, which helps improve body cell function and has been seen to reverse the metabolic slowdown associated with aging.

The company, which markets its products under the SmarterNaturally brand, was spun off from the Quadram Institute, a food and health research center in Norwich, and is funded in part by the government through grants from the British Research and Innovation Agency and venture capital funding.

The beneficial properties of the soup are based on the research of Professor Richard Miten on glucoraphanin. “There is a really large and growing body of published data, which are all peer-reviewed, published scientific papers on glucoraphanin and sulforaphane,” says Executive Director Laura Knight. “We have created a food product that contains a really high amount of this compound.”

A study has shown that each serving of soup made from freeze-dried raw broccoli contains as much glucoraphanin as a person would get from eating five or more heads of raw broccoli.

The company’s trials have shown that eating just one bowl of soup a week can help reduce elevated blood glucose levels and maintain those low levels over time. This is a special help for people with high blood sugar, which is a key risk factor for developing diabetes.

Other research has also shown that eating glucoraphanin-rich foods while making lifestyle changes can help with other age-related conditions, including supporting those who want to lower their risk of cancer, and may also help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

So what does soup really taste like? Cooked in 250 ml of boiling water and well stirred, the bright green soup has a thicker texture than you would expect from a soup bag and a mild vegetable flavor similar to a mixture of broccoli and cauliflower. This dish may not be the culinary highlight of the week for most, but it will not be difficult to include it in people’s diets.

Lowering blood glucose does not happen overnight, evidence suggests that it takes about six months for people to consume soup to see an effect.

In an effort to help those newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, the National Health Service recently expanded its diet program with soups and smoothies that have been shown to help people lose weight.

The number of people living with diabetes in the country has surpassed 5 million for the first time in what the charity has described as a “rapidly worsening” crisis, according to the latest figures from Diabetes UK. The vast majority (90%) of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes, a disease that is much more likely to develop if they are overweight. About two-thirds of adults in the UK are overweight or obese.