More foods that fight cancer
Published: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Some cancers are sneakier than art thieves; you don't even know they're there until the damage has been done. But there's a way to thwart cancer's plans (there's probably a way to thwart art thieves' plans, too, but we'll leave that to other experts), and that's to fill your plate with a little tender-crisp crunch and a little zip. Specifically, spice up your broccoli with some red chili peppers.
In the lab, a compound called phenethyl isothiocyanate – found in cruciferous veggies, including broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower – stopped ovarian cancer cells from spreading. Previous studies of people with bladder, prostate, breast and gut cancers have found that eating four to seven or more servings of cruciferous vegetables a week can prevent the growth of these cancers by 50 percent. Capsaicin, abundant in red chili peppers, also helped stop pancreatic cancer cells from spreading. That's like jailing the art thugs before they even begin the heist.
More than anything, cancer cells want energy. After all, these cells have a mechanism that makes them replicate efficiently – and also makes them stronger than normal cells in your body. If the cells don't get that energy, they kill themselves off because they outgrow their energy supply. Somehow, the compounds in chili peppers and these veggies encourage the killing-off process.
Add more broccoli to salads, pastas and side dishes; increase the zip of nearly anything with chili peppers – or pair these foods together in stir-frys.
And chalk another one up to the power of everyday foods.
–Drs. Mike Roizen