Throughout our evolutionary history, humans have utilized various edible plants. The ingestion of plants provided our bodies with valuable nutrients when meat was scarce, as well as with an array of phytochemicals. (1) Research indicates that the latter component of plant foods, phytochemicals, played a pivotal role in shaping our physiology. Continue reading →
Most of us know the “War on Cancer” is a bad joke that churns revenue for the cancer industry while per capita cancer rates continue to surge. Based on the premise that food should be our first medicine, the cruciferous family of vegetables is the food choice for resisting cancer. Continue reading →
Natural supplements are a great way to complement a healthful diet. Never should they be considered an adequate replacement for whole foods. A new study drives this home with a look at several foods, including broccoli. It shows why it’s just a bad idea to skip the broccoli in favor of popping a pill. Continue reading →
Research details published in the Molecular Nutrition & Food Research journal explains the potent mechanism exhibited by cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower to ameliorate developing cancer cells. The active photochemical known as sulforaphane targets prostate and other hormone dependent cancer lines and leaves normal healthy cells unaffected. Cruciferous vegetables have long been associated with a lowered risk of prostate cancer, but this is the first study to demonstrate the `search and attack` capability of the natural chemical compound. Consuming small amounts of crucifers several times each week can help to significantly lower your risk of developing many types of potentially deadly cancer lines.
The study was led by Dr. Emily Ho, associate professor from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. Tissue from cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower contain high levels of the powerful natural compound chemically known as glucosinolates. In the body glucosinolates are broken down into sulforaphane Continue reading →
Men with early signs of developing prostate cancer were able to prevent tumor growth by eating broccoli four times a week, according to a British study covered on MSN (http://health.msn.com/health-topics…). But broccoli is not the only cruciferous vegetable with anti-cancer properties.
Cabbage has a long history of use both as food and medicine, according to The George Mateljan Foundation for the World’s Healthiest Foods. Manual laborers were fed salted cabbage with their rice, according to William Duffy’s “Sugar Blues”, to keep them strong and healthy during the building of the Great Wall of China (http://www.naturalpedia.com/cabbage…). It was the only food they had besides their rice. Cabbage was also grown in Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations that held Continue reading →