Jed W. Fahey

Cullman Chemoprotection Center at Johns Hopkins

Jed W. Fahey, Sc.D., is a nutritional biochemist and director of the Cullman Chemoprotection Center at Johns Hopkins with a background in plant physiology, human nutrition, and phytochemistry. His research primarily focuses on the bioavailability and biological effects of isothiocyanates, particularly sulforaphane and glucoraphanin derived from broccoli seeds and sprouts. His published work includes clinical and laboratory studies evaluating these compounds in the contexts of metabolic health, skin disorders, autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, and cancer.

74 claims checked on air: 3 context 1 overstated 64 supported 6 unverified 1 flagged

What they said on air - unverified

23 citing their own research

0:08:07unverifiedvery lowJed Fahey, Sc.D. on Isothiocyanates, the Nrf2 Pathway, Morin

The Nrf2 pathway controls the expression of between 3% and 5% of human cellular proteins.

"and it turns out that the Nrf2 pathway controls something between 3 and 5% of our cellular proteins, so it's very important." (said at 0:08:07)

No published record matching the claim that the Nrf2 pathway controls between 3% and 5% of human cellular proteins was located; this does not prove the claim false.

0:11:51unverifiedvery lowJed Fahey, Sc.D. on Isothiocyanates, the Nrf2 Pathway, Morin

Sulforaphene activates Nrf2 to a lesser degree than sulforaphane.

"HOST: Does sulforaphene also activate Nrf2? GUEST1: It does, but to a lesser degree than sulforaphane." (said at 0:11:51)

No published record matching the claim that sulforaphene activates Nrf2 to a lesser degree than sulforaphane was located; this does not prove the claim false. While both isothiocyanates have been shown individually in preclinical models to induce phase 2 detoxification enzymes and activate the Nrf2 antioxidant pathway, direct comparative studies quantifying their relative potency for Nrf2 activation were not identified.

0:32:38unverifiedvery lowJed Fahey, Sc.D. on Isothiocyanates, the Nrf2 Pathway, Morin

Thorne manufactures a dietary supplement called Crucera-SGS that contains glucoraphanin without myrosinase.

"we've tested a product by Thorne, which is a medium- or large-sized supplement maker, and their product is called Crucera-SGS, but that only has glucoraphanin." (said at 0:32:38)

No published record matching the claim that Thorne manufactures a dietary supplement called Crucera-SGS containing glucoraphanin without myrosinase was located; this does not prove the claim false.

0:37:14unverifiedvery lowJed Fahey, Sc.D. on Isothiocyanates, the Nrf2 Pathway, Morin

People who regularly consume large amounts of broccoli do not exhibit higher conversion rates of glucoraphanin to sulforaphane compared to low consumers.

"there's no evidence to date that people who say they eat, you know, a pound of broccoli a day—that's a little bit of an exaggeration, but people who eat a lot of broccoli don't necessarily convert glucoraphanin better than people who don't eat much at all." (said at 0:37:14)

No published record matching the claim that individuals who regularly consume large amounts of broccoli do not exhibit higher conversion rates of glucoraphanin to sulforaphane compared to low consumers was located; this does not prove the claim false.

2:05:53unverifiedvery lowJed Fahey, Sc.D. on Isothiocyanates, the Nrf2 Pathway, Morin

Metabolites of sulforaphane appear in human blood within 10 minutes following ingestion.

"we know that we see the metabolites of sulforaphane appear in the blood within 10 minutes of ingestion." (said at 2:05:53)

No published record matching the claim that metabolites of sulforaphane appear in human blood within 10 minutes following ingestion was located; this does not prove the claim false.

2:07:40unverifiedvery lowJed Fahey, Sc.D. on Isothiocyanates, the Nrf2 Pathway, Morin

Phase II enzymes upregulated by sulforaphane through Nrf2 activation have biological half-lives on the order of days or weeks.

"What you're doing when you take sulforaphane is you're upregulating a bunch of enzymes, and those enzymes have a rather long—comparatively a rather long—half-life, meaning they don't lose their punch, they don't get deactivated or get broken down all that fast. And their half-lives are on the order of days, maybe even weeks for some of them, but certainly a few days is a reasonable guess for many of them." (said at 2:07:40)

No published record matching the claim that phase II detoxifying enzymes upregulated by sulforaphane through Nrf2 activation have biological half-lives on the order of days to weeks was located; this does not prove the claim false.

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