Were you experiencing positive symptoms prior to taking the pills? I think these are the only people who will be able to measure success with the supplement. Even then, it’s debateable. The study said that they hoped to be able to reduce antipsychotic medication, not that it would make us feel better.
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It’s hard to tell what effect the broccoli has on my schizophrenia because I’m taking 2 antipsychotics along side it.
It’s been 2 weeks and I’m feeling good. Just gotta wait and see.
No I wasn’t. But I’ll continue taking them for the month anyway and see what happens…
I got the sulforaphane from here:
It has 30,000 mcg of Sulforaphane in it, which is 30 mg, and the closest amount to the 100-150 micromoles used in the study, which seems to be 17.8 - 26.6 mg according to this.
Other cheap sulforaphane supplements contain something like 400 mcg only.
It’s really difficult to tell if it’s doing anything. I’ve been feeling “happier” lately but don’t know if it’s a coincidence. I’ll find out in 2 weeks when the bottle runs out.
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Folks - I spoke with the researchers today (via email) and got some more information on the study and on Sulforaphane that might be of value to people. If you try using the Avmacol product that is mentioned - please let us know here and post your results.
This study used a [Sulforaphane] preparation made at Johns Hopkins by Dr. Fahey, and is not commercially available. We have to be judicious about recommending supplements we have not tested in human subjects. There are dozens of different strains of broccoli seeds and some make only trace amounts of sulforaphane. Of the many companies working on this, we don’t know much about what is really in their products.
Prostaphane and Avmacol are products that we have some first hand experience with. There will be an initial trial of Avamacol in schizophrenia being reported in late 2019 or 2020. Other trials are also ongoing.
Also cooked broccoli drastically reduces Sulforaphane levels. Depending on the strain of seed for the broccoli, someone might need to eat a couple of pounds (per day) of raw to get a reasonable dose.
Here is more information on the products that he mentions that have been tested in clinical trials on humans and sound like they are reasonably highly thought of in terms of quality.
Avmacol:
Where to buy Avmacol:
Prostaphane
Unfortunately Prostaphane is only available in France by prescription, it seems. It is used as an anti-cancer therapeutic medicine. More info here:
Some other interesting research:
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Cool, I found the trial
The dosage of Avmacol they are using is 6 tablets a day.
I don’t know what dosage the bottle says to take but I bet it’s less than 6 per day.
At that dosage, at the $23.95 price, it would cost about $70 per month. (3 bottles of 60 tabs each)
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OK I was able to find a picture of the supplement facts label for Avmacol, which suggests a dosage of 2 tablets a day. But if you wanted to do like the study, it would be 6.
The label says 2 tablets have 30mg glucoraphanin.
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Great stuff Twinklestars - thanks for the additional information and link.
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It raises glutamate levels, which I think Sarcosine does as well.
This compound might benefit negative symptoms but I doubt it will touch the positives.
Dre91 that may be right. I just saw this other related research on glutamate and how increased levels seem to improve happiness in kids with ADHD (in this case the higher glutamate levels are caused by the medications, not the broccoli derivative.
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@SzAdmin yeah, you’re right.
Does anyone have any feedback on this supplement?
So glutamate levels may also be too high in schizophrenics? And broccoli may reduce glutamate levels by converting it to glutathione?
Is this maybe why adhd meds are bad for schizophrenia if they increase glutamate, or one reason for being bad for scz?
I think broccoli sprouts lowers glutamate levels? By increasing g an enzyme that converts glutamate into glutathione.
This makes me question whether sarcosine is good for scz if sarcosine increases glutamate,Maybe there’s more at play so it’s OK.
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Yes, you’re right @anon90843118
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Man they need to get onto more studies on this. Its very interesting. I need to know if raw broccoli daily is good for us
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I eat brocolli on a regular basis, and a lot of it. (I like it fried with butter, salt and pepper) I dont notice if its beneficial for me in any way though. I read from wiki it’s good for heart health and digestion.
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Same here I’m not sure if it’s beneficial or not. Well at least I’m eating some veg which is apparently not a bad thing lol.
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I’m feeling much happier. I’m getting a sense of humour back. My incessant worrying has stopped. I feel much more optimistic.
So it’s either due to :
- Taking abilify at 6pm instead of on waking
- The broccoli supplement
I’ll run out of the broccoli supplement soon. I won’t buy another for about a month to see if all this is due to it.
The supplement I’m using is this cheap one :
https://www.iherb.com/pr/Source-Naturals-Broccoli-Sprouts-Extract-60-Tablets/2456
Edit: I take 2 tablets a day when I get up.
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I ordered the one pictured above. I don’t notice any difference with it.