Phytochemicals from broccoli, cabbage, and collard greens as antioxidants

Phytochemicals - How Foods Fight Cancer

antioxidants minimum daily target

While antioxidants have the job of protecting you from the free radicals,
plants have many other protective substances, too. Biologists call them
phytochemicals. “Phyto” comes from the Greek word phyton, which means
“plant,” so phytochemicals are simply natural chemicals found in plants.

Although researchers first turned their attention to these chemicals
because of their apparent ability to prevent cancer, the possibility that these
natural compounds can also enhance survival after cancer has been diagnosed
is also now under study. Two groups are especially good to get to
know: cruciferous vegetables and the allium family of vegetables.

Cruciferous vegetables, such as ,
get their name from the cross-shaped flowers that adorn them just before
the plants go to seed. People who eat generous amounts of these vegetables
have remarkably low cancer rates, and researchers have dedicated a great
deal of effort to isolating the compounds that are responsible for their anticancer effects.

Broccoli, for example, contains sulforaphane,
a compound that augments the liver’s ability to
rid the body of toxic chemicals and excrete carcinogenic
compounds.9 Other phytochemicals in
broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables have
demonstrated the ability to arrest the growth of
cancer cells.2,10

Cruciferous vegetables also affect the hormones
that influence the progression of hormonedependent
cancers, such as breast cancer. In particular,
these vegetables actually change the way
estrogens are broken down and eliminated.

Normally, estradiol—a potent estrogen in a woman’s bloodstream—is converted
to 16 α-hydroxyestrone, a hormone that encourages the growth of
cancer cells. However, the cruciferous extract indole-3-carbinol causes the
body to convert more estrogen to a different estrogen called 2-hydroxy -
estrone, which has anticancer actions.11

Researchers are starting to test out the effects of cruciferous vegetable
extracts on patients. In one study, the extract indole-3-carbinol was given
to women with abnormal cervical cells (the type of cells gynecologists check
for on Pap smears). After twelve weeks, the abnormal cells had disappeared
in half the treated patients, while patients given a placebo preparation
showed no improvement.11

Cruciferous Vegetables
arugula
bok choy
broccoli
brussels sprouts
cabbage
cauliflower
collard greens
horseradish
kale
kohlrabi
mustard greens
radishes
rutabaga
turnip greens
turnips
watercress