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November 28, 2012

Anti-Cancer Foods: Go Cruciferous

Anti-Cancer Foods: Go Cruciferous

There is no doubt that eating lots of fruits and vegetables, along with berries, nuts, seeds, etc. is healthy, but not all of them are equally protective against cancer. There is one family that is especially protective: the cruciferous (cabbage-family) vegetables.

What is so special about cruciferous vegetables

I first learned about this in our new book: Super Immunity: The Essential Nutrition Guide for Boosting Your Body’s Defenses to Live Longer, Stronger, and Disease Free written by Joel Fuhrman. In one of his newsletter he says:

“Cruciferous vegetables contain glucosinolates and in a different area of the cell, an enzyme called myrosinase. When we blend, chop or chew these vegetables, we break up the plant cells, allowing myrosinase to come into contact with glucosinolates, initiating a chemical reaction that produces isothiocyanates (ITCs) – powerful anti-cancer compounds. ITCs have been shown to detoxify and remove carcinogens, kill cancer cells, and prevent tumors from growing.

Observational studies have shown that eating ITC-rich cruciferous vegetables protects against cancer – here are a few examples:

Twenty-eight servings of vegetables per week decreased prostate cancer risk by 33%, but just 3 servings of cruciferous vegetables per week decreased prostate cancer risk by 41%.
One or more servings of cabbage per week reduced risk of pancreatic cancer by 38%.
One serving per day of cruciferous vegetables reduced the risk of breast cancer by over 50%.”

What are the cruciferous vegetables

We have all heard that some exotic fruits can help against cancer. The latest I heard is that Sour Sop or the fruit from the graviola tree is a miraculous natural cancer cell killer. This is great! But in my area there aren’t any graviola trees growing. Cruciferous vegetables, however, grow everywhere.

We also know cruciferous vegetables as winter vegetables, because they are frost hardy. In warmer climates people grow them in the winter, and in very cold areas they can be grown in the summer. So we all can grow them, have them, eat them!

Here is a list of cruciferous vegetables:

  • arugula
  • bok choy
  • broccoli
  • broccoli rabe
  • brocollina
  • brussels sprouts
  • cabbage
  • cauliflower
  • collards
  • horseradish
  • kale
  • kohlrabi
  • mustard greens
  • radish
  • red cabbage
  • rutabaga
  • turnips
  • turnip greens
  • watercress

How to get the most out of Cruciferous vegetables

We should eat cruciferous (cabbage-family) vegetables every day. “Don’t forget: chopping, chewing, blending, or juicing cruciferous vegetables is necessary to produce the anti-cancer ITCs.” says Dr Fuhrman.

The enzyme that is needed to create the anti cancer component, is destroyed by cooking. It also is not present in frozen cruciferious vegetables because they are blanched prior to be frozen. A lot of cruciferous vegetables like arugula, kale, kohlrabi and even cabbage are very tasty raw, others we prefer eating cooked.

What to do?

Dr. Greger suggests two methods:

Pre-chop cruciferous (cabbage-family) vegetables about an hour prior to cooking them. The powerful anti-cancer compounds will be produced for maximum health benefits.

Or, adding  enzymes in the form of even a pinch of mustard powder, or row cruciferous (cabbage-family) vegetables to cooked cruciferous vegetables can offer anti-cancer sulforaphane levels comparable to raw.

Here more information on this:

In our blog post growing food – cabbage, we write all about growing cabbage, check it out.

We invite you to subscribe to Northern Homestead and follow us on Facebook or Pinterest.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kerry says

    August 1, 2013 at

    Isn’t it wonderful what just ordinary food can do?! I decided to eliminate most processed foods from my diet 2-1/2 years ago and most of my fibro symptoms disappeared– it was amazing.

    Thanks for sharing on A Humble Bumble’s Healthy Tuesday Blog Hop!
    Kerry from Country Living On A Hill

    Reply
    • Anna says

      August 1, 2013 at

      Glad you are feeling better. Yes, food plays a huge rule in our health and well being. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  2. Lorelai @ Life With Lorelai says

    January 10, 2015 at

    Anna, I love this post from start to finish. Great healthful information, a nice list of good foods to eat (we love arugula).

    ~Lorelai
    Life With Lorelai

    Reply
    • Anna says

      January 10, 2015 at

      Thank you for your kind words. Arugula is one of my favorite greens too.

      Reply
  3. Kristen from The Road to Domestication says

    January 16, 2015 at

    Anna, I wanted to stop by and tell you that we featured you over at the #HomeMattersParty! The door is open now…you should come by and check it out! Happy Friday!

    Reply
    • Anna says

      January 16, 2015 at

      Yes, I did see it, thank you! You have a great party!

      Reply
  4. Jamie says

    January 16, 2015 at

    And everyone thinks I’m crazy for loving Kohl Rabi – I’ll show them!! ha/ha Great post, I didn’t know a lot of this was such a good idea for health! #HomeMattersParty

    Reply
    • Anna says

      January 16, 2015 at

      Kohlrabi is one of my favorite, too.

      Reply

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