Elite runners are taking concentrated broccoli shots before hard sessions. Athletes setting half-marathon PRs swear by it.
Broccoli. For performance. Seriously.
We looked at every published study. Here's what we found.
What Nomio Actually Is (and Why Runners Care)
Nomio is a concentrated broccoli sprout extract. One shot delivers the equivalent of eating 2.5-3 kg of raw broccoli.
The active compounds are called isothiocyanates. You don't need to remember that name.
The active compounds flip a switch in your cells that boosts your body's own antioxidant defense. Think of it as training your cells to protect themselves.
Why runners care: the claim is that it delays how quickly lactate builds up during hard efforts.
Lactate isn't waste. It's fuel your body shuttles between muscle fibers.
Less buildup may mean you can push harder before hitting that ceiling.
This is different from beetroot juice. Beetroot lowers your oxygen cost. Nomio targets your internal defense system. Same sport, different playbook.
What the Studies Actually Show
The main study: Flockhart et al. (2023) tested 9 healthy subjects over 7 days of hard training.
Those taking the extract could work harder before lactate spiked. Their lactate buildup happened later, at higher intensities. Time to exhaustion improved too.
The catch: 9 people. 7 days.
The senior author, Filip Larsen, co-founded Nomio. That's not fraud. But it's a conflict of interest you should know about.
One early paper (Sundqvist et al., 2025) backs up the lactate finding with dose-response data. Also from the same lab. Independent scientists haven't reviewed it yet.
The only independent work comes from the Hood lab at York University. They confirmed the mechanism works in lab cells. Important, because no one with Nomio ties ran the experiment.
But cells in a dish aren't the same as your body during a tempo run.
The contradiction: Cesanelli et al. (Antioxidants, 2026) tested broccoli powder enriched with mustard-seed powder.
No measurable performance benefit. No meaningful change in oxidative stress or recovery.
Critical detail: they used broccoli powder (low in active compounds), not sprout extract (high). The form matters.
Where This Sits on the Evidence Scale
Beetroot juice earned its credibility over 15+ years of independent replication. It's now IOC-recognized.
Nomio is where beetroot was in 2009. Real science, early evidence.
The gap between "promising" and "proven" is independent replication.
No fully independent clinical trial on broccoli sprout extract and exercise performance exists as of April 2026.
How to Use It (If You Decide to Try)
No adverse effects have been reported in any study. It's broccoli extract, so the risk is minimal.
- Before hard sessions: Take one shot 2-3 hours before quality training (tempo, intervals, race-pace work). The idea: reduce lactate buildup so you get more out of the session.
- During heavy training blocks: Some athletes use it for recovery support between sessions.
- What it's NOT for: Your easy Zone 2 jog. This targets high-intensity efforts and recovery.
- Cost: ~$6-7 per shot. A month of daily use costs more than a year of creatine.
I've been experimenting with Nomio before quality sessions for the past few months.
Anecdotally, I've noticed a difference. A few athletes I work with report the same.
Is that the broccoli extract or just good training? Honestly, hard to say. But with no adverse effects and plausible science, it's worth trying for yourself.
Who Should Try It?
| Your Situation | Recommendation | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Elite or competitive, heavy training blocks | Consider trying | Low risk, may help recovery. Use before key sessions. Proven supplements first. |
| Competitive amateur | Wait | Evidence too thin. Caffeine, creatine, beetroot juice first. |
| Curious runner | Watch, don't buy | Check back in 2-3 years for independent replication. |
What would change my mind: One independent clinical trial with 30+ participants showing meaningful performance improvement in trained athletes under normal training conditions.
(That bar is genuinely hard to clear. Most exercise trials never get close.)
Practical Takeaways
- The mechanism is real. The evidence is early. One small study from the founder's lab.
- If you try it, time it right. 2-3 hours before hard sessions or during heavy training blocks for recovery.
- Don't skip proven supplements for this. Caffeine, creatine, and beetroot juice come first.
- Promising science worth watching. Not proven yet.
Bottom line: Real research, thin evidence, honest conflict of interest. Worth watching. Not worth reorganizing your supplement shelf.