(Ivanhoe Newswire) – People who carry the H. pylori bacteria in their guts are at higher risk for stomach cancer.

Now a new study suggests an easy way to reduce that risk: eat broccoli sprouts. In a study conducted among 48 men and women from Japan, Johns Hopkins investigators found those who ate 70 grams of fresh broccoli sprouts a day significantly reduced the H. pylori in their stomachs.

All of the participants tested positive for the bacteria. The researchers then randomized them to either 70 grams of broccoli sprouts per day or a similar amount of alfalfa sprouts. The subjects were retested for H. pylori at four and eight weeks. By the final follow up, the broccoli sprouts had done the trick. People who ate the alfalfa sprouts showed no change in the degree of infection.

"Broccoli has recently entered the public awareness as a preventive dietary agent. This study supports the emerging evidence that broccoli sprouts may be able to prevent cancer in humans, not just in lab animals," study author Jed Fahey, Sc.D., was quoted as saying.

Stomach cancer is currently the second most common cancer worldwide, and the second deadliest form of the disease, so finding ways to prevent the condition could have a major impact on public health.