Published in the journal PLoS ONE, researchers found that a specific compound in vegetables like broccoli–sulforaphane–caused the cancer cells in acute lymphoblastic leukemia to die. Many of the healthy foods we hear about are said to help stave off cancer and other diseases, but this time, it is said to actually help cure it.
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is most common with children and can be cured up to 80% of the time, but in instances where it can’t be cured, this study is particularly interesting. Of course, patients are not cured simply by eating their veggies. A concentrated form of the compound was needed to see the results.
Even so, this opens our eyes further to the healing powers of food. Plus, it makes us wonder if, some day natural compounds like this could not only cure cancer in non-responding patients, but could it also replace some of the harsher treatments like chemotherapy?
The vegetable compound has also been touted in past research as a way to guard against breast cancer by killing breast cancer cells and preventing new tumors from growing.
It’s definitely good food for thought. And another reason to keep eating our green veggies. Because if a concentrated form can have these results, imagine the results of eating nutritiously-rich these foods every day for years.