A team of British researchers believe they have proven a compound in ordinary broccoli can help prevent arthritis.

A team at the University of East Angola say a test on cells and mice of glucoraphanin, which is found in broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage, can block an enzyme that is a major factor in damaging cartilage.

The body takes glucoraphanin and turn sit into sulforaphane which protects joints.

The group has been given clearance to begin human testing to see the impact on a broccoli enhanced diet in stopping damage.

“We’re asking patients to eat 100 grams (3.5 ounces) every day for two weeks,” Dr. Rose Davidson told the BBC. “That’s a normal, good-sized serving, about a handful, and it’s an amount that most people should be happy to eat every day.”

In addition to finding the substance in regular broccoli, the group has also found a way to breed a hybrid of two wild forms of broccoli that produces 20% more glucoraphanin.

“We know that exercise and keeping to a healthy weight can improve people’s symptoms and reduce the chances of the disease progressing,” Professor Alan Silman of Arthritis Research UK told the BBC, “but this adds another layer in our understanding of how diet could play its part.”