Green vegetables proven to protect against breast cancer

Friday, April 20, 2012 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: cruciferous vegetables, breast cancer, prevention

(NaturalNews) Eating more cruciferous vegetables has been shown once again to play an important role in the mitigation of cancer, this time in helping women with breast cancer to live longer. A Chinese study recently presented at the 103rd annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) revealed that the more cruciferous vegetables women with breast cancer eat, the more likely they are not only to survive their condition, but also to add more years onto their lives.

Based on data collected for the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study, a comprehensive, large-scale study of breast cancer survivors in China, it appears as though consumption patterns of cruciferous vegetables, or vegetables from the cabbage family, are directly proportional to survival rates. The breast cancer-specific mortality rate among women who consumed the most cruciferous vegetables, for instance, was as much as 62 percent less than among those who consumed the least or no cruciferous vegetables.

At the same time, the overall mortality rate among women who consumed cruciferous vegetables on a regular basis was found to be anywhere from 27 to 62 percent less than among women who consumed little or no cruciferous vegetables. And risk of breast cancer recurrence among cruciferous-eating women was as much as 35 percent lower than among non-eating women.

"Commonly consumed cruciferous vegetables in China include turnips, Chinese cabbage (bok choy) and greens, while broccoli and brussels sprouts are the more commonly consumed cruciferous vegetables in the United States and other Western countries," said Dr. Sara Nechuta, a postdoctoral research fellow at Vanderbilt University and author of the study.

"Second, the amount of intake among Chinese women is much higher than that of U.S. women. The level of bioactive compounds such as isothiocyanates and indoles, proposed to play a role in the anti-cancer effects of cruciferous vegetables, depend on both the amount and type of cruciferous vegetables consumed."

Cruciferous vegetables contain a variety of anti-cancer nutrients that have been shown in previous studies to both fight cancer cells and prevent them from forming. Sulforaphane, an organosulfur compound found in broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, for instance, is a powerful anti-cancer nutrient that also performs a number of beneficial functions in the body (http://www.naturalnews.com).

Isothiocyanates are another anti-cancer nutrient in cruciferous vegetables that activate cancer-fighting genes. Both systemically and genetically, cruciferous vegetables help fight and prevent cancer, and are a great way by which to protect yourself against this pandemic condition.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.independent.ie

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/761792
(If this link does not work directly, try searching for "Cruciferous Veggies Boost Survival in Breast Cancer Patients")

https://www.naturalnews.com/025441_vegetables_cancer_cruciferous.html