Eating a mix of broccoli and carrots every day for two weeks lowers a blood inflammation marker just as much as eating a lot of broccoli alone.

Scientific Claim

Consumption of 7 g/kg body weight of cruciferous vegetables plus 4 g/kg body weight of apiaceous vegetables per day for 14 days reduces serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentrations by 20% in healthy young adults aged 20–40, demonstrating that combining these vegetable families has a similar anti-inflammatory effect on IL-6 as double-dose cruciferous vegetables alone.

Original Statement

“IL-6 concentrations were significantly lower on day 14 of the 2xC and 1xC+A diets than with the basal diet [-19% (95% CI: -30%, -0.1%) and -20% (95% CI: -31%, -0.7%), respectively].”

From study:Cruciferous vegetables have variable effects on biomarkers of systemic inflammation in a randomized controlled trial in healthy young adults.

Evidence Quality Assessment

Claim Status

appropriately stated

Study Design Support

Design supports claim

Appropriate Language Strength

definitive

Can make definitive causal claims

Assessment Explanation

The RCT design with precise dosing and statistical significance supports definitive causal language. The claim is confined to the exact intervention and population studied.

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Cruciferous vegetables have variable effects on biomarkers of systemic inflammation in a randomized controlled trial in healthy young adults.

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

The study found that eating a lot of broccoli-like veggies plus carrots for two weeks lowered a key inflammation marker (IL-6) by about 20%, just as much as eating twice as much broccoli alone.

Contradicting (0)

No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

Cruciferous vegetables have variable effects on biomarkers of systemic inflammation in a randomized controlled trial in healthy young adults.

Score: 69

DOI: 10.3945/jn.114.197434

Similar Assertions

Eating a lot of broccoli, cabbage, and similar veggies every day for two weeks can lower a key inflammation marker in the blood of healthy young people.

96%

Eating a moderate amount of broccoli for two weeks might lower inflammation in some people with a certain gene, but the effect isn't strong enough to be sure yet.

91%

For people with a certain gene combination, eating broccoli for two weeks actually made one inflammation marker go up instead of down.

91%

Eating a mix of broccoli and carrots every day for two weeks slightly increases another inflammation marker in the blood of healthy young people.

90%

People with a specific genetic variation who eat a mix of broccoli and carrots for two weeks see big drops in two key inflammation markers in their blood.

86%