Broccoli extract: your endurance edge or just green hype?

The supplement Nomio — a concentrated shot of broccoli-sprout isothiocyanates (ITCs) — is making waves in endurance sport. The key claims: lower blood lactate during exercise, reduced oxidative stress, improved mitochondrial signalling. The article highlights three supporting studies; this Flockhart et al. paper is one of the stronger peer-reviewed ones.

In that study:

• Healthy subjects did a 7-day block of intense interval training. GRS (glucosinolate‐rich broccoli sprouts) twice daily vs placebo.
• Results included lower markers of oxidative stress (carbonylated proteins, myeloperoxidase), lower lactate accumulation during sub-maximal exercise, improved performance on a VO₂max test.
• Mechanistic angle: ITCs act via Nrf2 signalling (a cellular antioxidant/mitochondrial biogenesis regulator) rather than direct antioxidant scavenging.

For us this is interesting because:

• It suggests a nutritional/biochemical intervention that might shift how athletes tolerate repeated hard efforts.
• The focus is not on raising peak power but on adapting the body’s stress response and mitochondrial resilience.
• That said: the study is short term (7 days), sample size small, and doesn’t yet demonstrate real-race gains or late-race durability improvements.

Key takeaway & caution

There are promising signs: broccoli-sprout derived ITCs (as in this study) show adaptive responses to hard training (less oxidative stress, lower lactate at given output) in controlled conditions. But there is no solid evidence yet that this translates into better race outcomes, greater late-race durability, or performance improvements in field conditions. For now it’s worth putting on your radar as a potential adjunct, but you’d treat it as speculative.

Reference: Glucosinolate‑rich broccoli sprouts protect against oxidative stress and improve adaptations to intense exercise training (Flockhart et al., 2023)

On my mindFind Your People

Once you find your people, everything changes.

Cycling has this way of bringing together people who understand what words often can’t express — the quiet obsession, the small wins, the deep fatigue that feels good. Carl Jung said loneliness isn’t about being alone, but about not being able to share what matters most.

For a lot of us, that’s what finding a cycling community fixes. You don’t have to explain why you wake up at 5 a.m. or why “just one more climb” makes sense. You’re seen. You’re understood.

And that sense of connection — not watts or medals — might be the real reason we keep showing up.

Damian