More proof that broccoli is a cancer slayer

I don’t know about you, but I find it comforting to know that for pretty much any disease I’m afraid of, I can reduce my risks using food instead of dangerous drugs.

For example, I know that eating the right carbs — the cancer-killing ones that contain resistant starch — can help me avoid breast cancer.

And over 150 studies concur that an anti-inflammatory diet that’s high in magnesium, omega-3s, and six other nutrients will reduce my risk for all sorts of diseases, including cancer, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease.

If you’ve been reading here for a while, none of this will surprise you.

Nor will the fact that there’s one vegetable that stands out as a potent weapon against disease.

Now, there’s new research that confirms the importance of making this “little green tree” part of your daily diet…

How broccoli champions cancer-fighting enzymes

Dr. Pier Paolo Pandolfi of the Cancer Center and Cancer Research Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center led a team of researchers who looked more deeply into just how broccoli is able to suppress cancer.

In simple terms, here’s what they discovered…

There’s a potent tumor-suppressing enzyme known as PTEN. There’s also a gene known to cancer researchers – called the WWP1 gene – that goes up against PTEN by producing another enzyme that suppresses PTEN’s ability to knock out tumors.

Enter broccoli.

Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables contain a phytonutrient known as indole-3-carbinol, or I3C.

Indole-3-carbinol is like the bodyguard that comes in and knocks out the WWP1 gene, deactivating it and letting PTEN go back to work suppressing cancerous tumors.

Not quite “ready for prime time”

Pandolfi and his colleagues made this discovery by giving doses of I3C to cancer-prone lab animals.

While these results are exciting, there’s more work to be done to make them practical to apply.

You see, it would take eating about six pounds of raw broccoli or Brussels sprouts per day to get these cancer-fighting benefits. Not many people can, or will, consume that much.

Related: The “hot” condiment with 10x the cancer-fighting bang of broccoli

That’s why Pandolfi and his team will continue looking into other ways to deliver this amount of I3C on a daily basis, perhaps through a drug, or perhaps genetically.

In the meantime, unless you want to eat pounds of raw vegetables every day, you’ll want to look at other ways to get the cancer-fighting benefits of cruciferous vegetables.

You’ll also want to know about other foods that are potent cancer-fighters as well.

Other cancer-fighting foods and nutrients

Luckily, there are foods you can make a regular part of your diet that don’t require consuming pounds of them to reap the benefit they offer.

First, be aware that including broccoli and other cruciferous veggies (Brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower, cabbage) in your diet, in lesser amounts, will still provide your body with cancer-fighting nutrients.

Broccoli contains sulforaphane, a naturally occurring compound that protects against prostate, colon, lung and breast cancer.

Here is an infographic of 20 cancer-fighting foods. Some, like garlic and blueberries, may be well-known to you. On the other hand, for example, you may be surprised to find that lemons have cancer-fighting chemicals.

Animal studies indicate that D-limonene, a compound found in lemon oil, does have anticancer properties.

Finally, if you enjoy fresh herbs in your cooking or in your salads, reach for parsley and dill.

On its own, dill has been shown to protect the body from free radicals and help detoxify carcinogens.

And parsley contains some of the most potent cancer-fighting compounds known to man — including limonene, eugenol, and myristicin. All of these have serious tumor-shrinking powers.

Sources:

1. Natural Compound Found in Broccoli Reawakens the Function of Potent Tumor Suppressor — Neuroscience News
2. Prevention and therapy of cancer by dietary monoterpenes — Journal of Nutrition