Top 5 Common Food Sources of Glucosinolates
Looking to get more glucosinolates in your diet? Look no further! My team and I have crunched the numbers and did all the math to determine the top 5 common food sources of this phytonutrient, per serving. Getting enough glucosinolates as part of a healthy balanced diet is important since a large collection of studies show that getting nutrients from dietary supplements or multivitamins doesn’t improve health outcomes compared to getting nutrients from foods!
| Rank | Food | Nutrivore Score | Serving Size (Raw) | Glucosinolates (mg/serving) | % Recommended Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turnip Greens | 6370 | 2 cups | 810.7 | 1351 |
| 2 | Mustard Greens | 5464 | 2 cups | 609.8 | 1016 |
| 3 | Radish, Average1 | 5506 | 1 cup | 585.8 | 976 |
| 4 | Kohlrabi | 2497 | 1 cup | 399.6 | 666 |
| 5 | Brussels Sprouts | 2817 | 1 cup | 392.0 | 653 |
Want to know more about this important nutrient including the protective effects from glucosinolates and their breakdown products in the body, how much glucosinolates we need, and even more foods with high glucosinolate content? Keep reading to learn all there is to know!
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What Are Glucosinolates and What Do They Do?
Glucosinolates are the biologically inactive compounds responsible for the distinctive flavor—including bitterness, sulfurous aroma, and pungency—of cruciferous vegetables. Glucosinolates are metabolized into isothiocyanates when the vegetable is damaged (for example, sliced, crushed or chewed), and the glucosinolates are able to mix with the vacuolar hydrolase enzyme myrosinase, which hydrolyses the glucosinolates into isothiocyanates.
Each type of glucosinolate breaks down into a different isothiocyanate, all with different biological activities and differing impacts on our health. Examples include sinigrin and allyl isothiocyanate, glucotropaeolin and benzyl isothiocyanate, gluconasturtiin and phenethyl isothiocyanate, glucobrassicin, indole-3-carbinol, and 3,3′-diindolylmethane, and most famously glucoraphanin and sulforaphane.
Isothiocyanates are absolute rock stars as far as human health is concerned! Research spanning human epidemiology, animal models, and in vitro experiments show that dietary isothiocyanates are inversely associated with bladder cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, and pancreatic cancer; some evidence also suggests they may be able to improve ventricular function following heart attacks.
Other classes of glucosinolate metabolites that also have important roles in health include thiocyanates and indoles. Indoles exhibit powerful cancer prevention benefits through multiple mechanisms that include modulation of phase i and phase ii detoxification enzymes, regulation of cell cycle arrest, control of cell growth, induction of apoptosis, antioxidant activity, anti-angiogenic effects, and epigenetic regulation. Indole-3-carbinol breaks down into 3,3′-diindolylmethane (DIM), which is known for its anti-inflammatory, immune system modulating, cancer prevention and estrogen metabolism benefits. Learn more about glucosinolates here.
How Much Glucosinolates Do We Need?
Currently there are no official guidelines for glucosinolate intake requirements but we have set a recommended target of 60 mg for adults based on Team Nutrivore’s review of the scientific literature, established with the aim of providing improvements for overall health and reduction in chronic disease risk.
Nutrient Daily Values
Nutrition requirements and recommended nutrient intake for infants, children, adolescents, adults, mature adults, and pregnant and lactating individuals.
More Food Sources of Glucosinolates
Glucosinolates are for the most part unique to brassica vegetables (members of the cruciferous family) including arugula (rocket), bok choi, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, daikon radish, garden cress, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, mustard greens, radish, rapeseed, rutabaga, turnip, wasabi, and watercress. If you’re not a fan of crucifers a surprising non-brassicaceae food which contains glucosinolates in substantial quantities is papaya!
Best Food Sources of Glucosinolates
The following foods have high concentrations of glucosinolates, containing at least 30 mg per serving, making them our best food sources of this incredibly important class of phytonutrients!
Good Food Sources of Glucosinolates
The following foods are excellent or good sources of glucosinolates, containing total glucosinolates of 6 mg (and up to 30 mg) per serving.
Top 5 Common Food Sources
If you’re looking for top 5 common food sources of other important nutrients check out these posts!
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