Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, chard, arugula or celery represent a true protective shield for our intestines , according to the latest study carried out by researchers led by Ethan Goddard-Borger, from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute from Melbourne (Australia), Spencer Williams, from the Bio21 Institute and the University of Melbourne (Australia) and Gideon Davies, from the University of York (UK).
To reach this conclusion, the experts managed to identify a hitherto unknown enzyme, YihQ , whose rather unusual sugar molecule, sulfoquinovose (SQ), represents the food of bacteria, fungi and other organisms. The bacteria thus use this enzyme to absorb and metabolize these sugars with sulfur as food. This sugary molecule is produced by green leafy vegetables at a rate of 10 billion tons per year.
Scientists claim that these types of vegetables protect our intestinal flora and limit the ability of harmful bacteria to grow and colonize our intestines . Thus, the more green leafy vegetables we consume, the healthier and more protected our intestines will be, since they favor the growth of a healthy flora. The “good” bacteria will predominate over the “bad” ones.
“This work sheds light on a mystery that for 50 years has surrounded the use and recycling of sulfur – an essential element for life on earth – used by living organisms,” explains Spencer Williams.
The study has been published in the journal Nature .
