Some veggies wonder drugs against cancer - study
Published: November 1, 2005
Want a better chance of beating cancer? Eat your veggies - and not just the ones your grandmother cooked.
Broccoli sprouts, garlic and raw or barely cooked cabbage are the latest goodies that scientists say contain chemicals that fight various types of cancer.
The nutritional supplement ginkgo biloba also shows promise in warding off the disease.
“For years, the conventional wisdom was that all vegetables are good,” said Elizabeth Tait of the American Association for Cancer Research. “That may be true, but now we’re finding that specific chemicals in these vegetables can fight specific cancers.”
Five studies presented yesterday at the AACR’s research meeting in Baltimore pinpointed the healthful benefits of the veggies and herbs.
Scientists say the new studies provide ammunition to consumers looking for specific ways to protect themselves and their families every time they walk down the grocery aisle.
“There are plenty of simple, everyday things you can do,” Tait said.
Two of the studies focused on the potential benefits of broccoli sprouts, which look like alfalfa sprouts and are often sold in plastic containers in the salad section of supermarkets.
A Japanese scientist found that extremely young broccoli sprouts can fight an infection that leads to stomach cancer and ulcers.
He warns that the cancer-fighting chemical declines dramatically as the broccoli plant grows and is almost nonexistent in the familiar heads of broccoli many of us grew up loving or hating.
A second study revealed the same chemical in sprouts that fights stomach cancer reduced the incidence of skin cancer by 50% in lab mice who were exposed to ultraviolet light.
Cabbage is another old standby that may have a special benefit - if prepared the right way.
Researchers suspected cabbage might have anti-breast cancer properties because Polish immigrants experienced much higher cancer rates in the United States than they had in Europe.
Scientists pinpointed a chemical in cabbage - especially raw or barely cooked cabbage that is a staple of traditional Polish fare like cole slaw or sauerkraut - that appears to protect women.
Garlic always has been heralded for its healthful, even mythic, properties.
Now it shows promise in counteracting cancer-causing chemicals produced by char-broiled meat.
Meanwhile, ginkgo biloba, a supplement commonly sold in health food stores, reduced the “silent killer” of ovarian cancer by 60% in a clinical test of more than 1,200 women.
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