Prevention is always preferable to cure, and while much of the data are still preliminary, a growing body of evidence suggests that the local green market may be a rich source of anticancer agents. In particular, certain fruits and
vegetables seem to have powerful tumor-fighting properties that researchers are just beginning to appreciate, and to
study. A sampling of the current crop of findings includes:
Tomatoes.
Soy and
Broccoli It is well-known in science that men eating cooked tomato products such as pasta sauces tend to have a lower rate of
prostate cancer. Now, a study by American Association for Cancer Research shows that daily doses of lycopene, an antioxidant that ripens tomatoes and is responsible for their red color, may not only prevent prostate cancer, but amazingly shrink the existing tumors as well. Men taking 30 mg of the supplement (2 lbs to 3 lbs of tomatoes), had lower levels of PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen), an indicator of cell growth-and smaller tumors.
Women taking soy products such as tofu and soy milk are less likely to develop breast cancer-the reason being unknown. Now a small study of two dozen women may point to an answer: soy seems to keep circulating levels of estrogen low, which in turn inhibits breast cells from proliferating. Women in the study drank more than four glasses of soy milk a day for one month, and their peak blood estrogen levels dropped 40%.
Among all the cancer fighting vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage stand out, especially in cancers of the
bladder. Regardless of how many fruits and vegetables a group of 48,000 men ate, only those consuming broccoli and related vegetables reduced their risk of bladder cancer, according to a report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Broccoli may fight cancer by detoxifying organisms in the gut that would otherwise trigger malignancies in bladder tissue.
More abstracts about the Food That Fights Cancer