Sulforaphane for autism. Could this natural compound help your child? Could a simple compound found in broccoli really help reduce autism symptoms like irritability, focus, and hyperactivity? I know it sounds surprising, but the science behind it is fascinating and there’s quite a bit.
It just might help your child, so let’s get learning.
Today we’re going to explore sulforaphane. It’s a natural compound that’s gaining a lot of attention for its potential to reduce autism symptoms. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the information out there, you’re not alone. But by the end of this post, you’ll have a clear understanding of how sulforaphane works, and whether it could be right for your child. Let’s start with the basics.
What is sulforaphane?
It is a powerful compound found in vegetables like broccoli, and broccoli sprouts, and it’s known for its ability to fight oxidative stress and inflammation.
Simplified, oxidative stress happens when there’s an imbalance between harmful molecules called free radicals and the body’s ability to detoxify them.
In children with autism, research shows oxidative stress is often higher than normal, leading to inflammation and, many times neuroinflammation as well. And this all impacts how your child develops and functions.
Now there’s a variety of preclinical research regarding the role of sulforaphane in neuroprotection that’s been conducted with quite promising results.
Preclinical research is where all of these ideas get started and they have to show promise there before really progressing. Only a few human trials regarding the protective effects of sulforaphane in the nervous system have been done. However, sulforaphane has very strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties which allow it to dramatically reduce cytotoxicity in the nervous system with apparently very little toxicity of its own. That’s great, right? It’s coming from a veggie. Hopefully, veggies are good.
What does sulforaphane do?
Sulforaphane helps by activating certain protective pathways in the body – we’ll get a little technical here – specifically the NRF2 pathway. Think of that as a switch that turns on your body’s natural defenses. It reduces oxidative stress, calms inflammation, and helps the brain function better.
Mechanisms of neuroprotection
This activation of the NRF2 pathway leads to the upregulation of many downstream products involved in protection against oxidative stress, including
- NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1
- heme oxygenase 1
- glutathione (GSH) peroxidase
- gamma glutamylcysteine synthetase
Now that last enzyme is important because it is a rate-limiting enzyme that controls the rate of glutathione synthesis.
Glutathione is imperative for detoxification. The adequate availability of reduced glutathione is vital to avoid damage induced by free radicals. Sulforaphane increases glutathione release by up to a 2.4-fold increase in cultured cells and has been shown to reduce oxidative stress in multiple disease states in cultured cells as well as animal models.
There were a lot of studies that have been done to see on a cellular level what happens. And then when you move to models, what happens? And then you move to animal models, and what happens? And then you move to humans, and what happens? So you can see there’s this buildup of understanding sulforaphane in our body.
What it does
- A brief study in humans revealed that sulforaphane increases the amount of glutathione in the brain after seven days of administration, which provides evidence that the antioxidant pathways activated by sulforaphane are present in humans. That’s what we want to know – is this working in humans? Will this work for your child if they have these kinds of issues? And this is all important research to know.
- Besides boosting the body’s defenses with antioxidants, sulforaphane also helps lower the initial inflammatory response, which reduces the damage caused by the immune system’s response, that initial response, when something is triggered, when there’s some kind of insult that we have, then that initial inflammation response is actually lowered and then, therefore, reducing any kind of damage that is done by that initial response.
- Sulforaphane also helps protect brain cells by changing certain immune cells called microglia from a harmful type, M1, to a helpful anti-inflammatory type, M2. This lowers the levels of several harmful molecules, like tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukins, and other inflammatory substances.
- Sulforaphane also reduces the death of brain cells by controlling other signals in the body that cause inflammation. Autophagy is a process that cells use to break down damaged parts, the harmful proteins, kind of in that recycle and clean out stage. So that entire process is also boosted by sulforaphane in brain cells.
- Sulforaphane helps protect mitochondria in brain cells as well. Neurons, which use a lot of energy, need healthy mitochondria to keep working properly, and you’ve probably heard lots about mitochondria. The NRF2 pathway turns on genes that help create new mitochondria. It helps protect important parts of them, and then also that pathway helps prevent a drop in energy, ATP, caused by toxins. This pathway also boosts antioxidant defenses to keep mitochondria safe from damage. Protecting mitochondria can also reduce harm from epileptic seizures. That’s super important.
- Sulforaphane boosts the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which helps create new brain cells. It also increases Wnt signaling in neural stem cells, causing them to multiply and develop into neurons.
Why sulforaphane for autism?
Let’s learn more specifics. There have been several research studies exploring the effects of sulforaphane on children with autism. This is the important data that you really want to know.
2014 study
In 2014, there was a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study involving autism 40 males with moderate to severe autism. They were aged 13 to 27. Participants who received sulforaphane supplements showed significant improvement in social interaction, abnormal behaviors, and verbal communication compared to those who received a placebo.
This is a gold standard type of clinical trial.
After 18 weeks, the sulforaphane group had noticeable improvement, but the benefits decreased when the treatment was stopped. It took 18 weeks to see it, they stopped it, and once they stopped it, results started to revert.
In 2017, scientists conducted a follow-up study and re-examined the original participants from the 2014 study. These are great kids and great parents, right? They’re really involved. The idea was to observe the long-term effects of sulforaphane. So the findings of this clinical trial were researchers confirmed that the improvement in behavior and communication observed during the initial study were not present when participants stopped taking sulforaphane. This emphasized the need for continuous use of sulforaphane to maintain positive effects.
Now that’s what the scientists concluded. I don’t like that as a conclusion. I don’t want to have to be dependent on one particular thing for my child to have to take every day to see some results.
It’s great that taking sulforaphane allowed there to be improvement of certain symptoms. The whole idea is, what’s causing that issue?
Make sure you focus on that. You can use sulforaphane in the interim, right? There’s no reason for your child to not be at their best. But you want to keep going further and figure out what is causing this issue. We want sustained improvement. That’s what we want as parents.
2023 study
In 2023, there was another randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of those with autism. These were much younger participants – 3 to 7 years. And this was a 36-week-long study. They were given sulforaphane, and the researchers concluded that there was no change measurable.
Now, this is confusing, right? We have one clinical trial that says there was a change, This is how autism can get confusing. It’s like, what do you do? Is sulforaphane good or not? Does it work or not?
So I went deep into the research. And it took me time to read each publication and look at what the researchers did. I used to work on clinical trial design when I was a medical strategist for the pharmaceutical industry so I have some familiarity with clinical trial design and getting into those details. When I went into the details, you could see that the dosing was different. The time frame is ballpark about the same, but the dosing is different and that’s hugely important.
The study in 2014, which showed there were results, had a dosing of 50 to 150 micromoles. Whereas the 2023 clinical trial with the younger children, had a max dose of 50 micromoles. You can see there’s a difference.
If you do some chemistry conversions – this brought me back to my undergraduate days – if you convert micromoles to milligrams, then the conversion of 50 to 150 micromoles converts to 8 to 26 milligrams of a daily dose.
Time and dosage is important
Dose matters. Studies show that sulforaphane can improve key symptoms like irritability, hyperactivity, and social interaction. One study even found improvement in social responsiveness in children with autism after 12 weeks of sulforaphane supplementation.
Keep in mind the time frame when you’re working with supplements. You want to give enough time for it to actually work and see a changeable result. And then you also have to keep in mind dosing. So one clinical trial had a different dose and showed results. The other clinical trial had a much lower dose and didn’t show results. So it’s really important when you make conclusions as to whether something works or not that you gave it a fair amount of time and a high enough dose for it to be optimal.
Please keep in mind that sulforaphane is not something that just works overnight. 12 weeks would be the minimum that I would use it.
Also, remember to keep in mind the dosage. You will likely need a higher dose if you haven’t addressed the root cause yet. Maybe your child’s being exposed to something every day. You’re going to need a higher dose to see improvement just because they require detox. Now, if you resolve the cause and remove it, then that dose wouldn’t need to be as high because you’re not introducing toxicity. So these are all things to think about.
Sulforaphane may also be particularly useful for children who struggle with other conditions tied to autism, like gastrointestinal problems or difficulty detoxifying harmful substances. That brings us to the next point,
How sulforaphane works with your child’s body to make improvements
Let’s dive a little deeper into the science. The key reason sulforaphane is so promising for autism is that it targets three major issues that are often seen in children with autism:
- oxidative stress
- inflammation, and
- mitochondrial dysfunction.
Oxidative stress
First, we have oxidative stress, which I mentioned earlier. Now this is when there’s an overproduction of harmful molecules that damage cells. High levels of oxidative stress have been closely linked to more severe autism symptoms.
Mitochondrial dysfunction
Next, sulforaphane supports mitochondria, which are parts of the cell that produce energy. Mitochondria issues are common in kids with autism. It leads to issues like fatigue and poor focus, even contributing to behaviors like hyperactivity which can all be related to mitochondria issues.
So by improving mitochondrial function, sulforaphane helps your child’s cells produce more energy more efficiently which then can improve their ability to learn and focus and also interact socially, right? When you have more energy at a cellular level, then you can do different things.
Gut health
And here’s another exciting area of research. Sulforaphane may also improve gut health, which we know is deeply connected to brain function. Some studies have found that children with autism often have an imbalance in their gut bacteria, I think we all know that by now, which then can contribute to inflammation and also affect behavior. While we need more research in this area, for sure, some early studies suggest that sulforaphane might help rebalance gut microbiota, potentially reducing gastrointestinal issues and supporting overall brain health.
Challenges with autism
Now here’s where it gets a little bit tricky. Autism is highly complex and not all treatments work the same for every child. That’s why researchers are calling for more personalized treatment approaches. And that’s what we do here. We teach the science so you can know if it is relevant for your child.
Clinical trials for sulforaphane have shown promising results, not all, but there are different challenges.
For example, because autism symptoms can vary so much from one child to another, it’s difficult to measure consistent outcomes.
Behaviors can also fluctuate naturally, right? We have good days and bad days naturally, making it harder to determine whether improvements or not are due to the treatment or something else.
I also walked you through the importance of dosing. Dosing is so important. It’s not just using the right supplement at the right time, but it has to be the right dose for them.
But despite these challenges, many families are seeing benefits. Especially when sulforaphane is used as a part of a personalized treatment plan. It’s just one component. Researchers are also calling for larger and longer-term studies to better understand how sulforaphane works and for whom it’s most effective. Those are all the clinical trials. It takes time and you might not necessarily want to wait a decade or two for these studies to be done.
You want to know what has been done so far, and talk this over with your doctor. So if you’re considering sulforaphane, it’s important to know that while it shows great potential, it may not work for every child. And that’s okay! It’s all about finding what works best for your child’s unique needs. And most importantly, what is your child’s specific root cause or causes?
Is sulforaphane right for your child?
How do you know if sulforaphane is right for your child? Lab tests! You always want to test if you can. You can do certain tests for inflammation, mitochondria, and gut health, and then you can see if sulforaphane is appropriate.
Sulforaphane is available as a supplement and you can even boost intake through foods like broccoli and broccoli sprouts. But before you start, consider getting some lab tests done to measure things like oxidative stress, inflammation, and mitochondrial function. This can help you track progress and understand if it’s making a difference. You don’t want to be guessing and just saying, Oh, I think it worked. No, use lab tests, measure, and quantify.
By monitoring these markers, you can see how your child’s body responds to the treatment and adjust as needed. That’s what really helps with dosing as well.
Safety and side effects
All right, what about safety and side effects? Of course, safety is a big concern for all of us as parents, right? We all are loving parents. We don’t want to cause any harm.
What do we know about the safety of sulforaphane? In the study, sulforaphane was generally well tolerated, with only mild side effects reported, such as digestive issues like gas or bloating. There were no serious side effects found.
However, as always, it’s important to consult your healthcare provider before starting any new supplements.
If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by all of this information, don’t worry, I am here to help you make sense of it all. Click the link to learn more about how we can work together. I’ll break down the science and guide you with clear, actionable steps, tailored to your child’s unique needs. Let’s make this journey easier and more empowering together.
