We are constantly focused on avoiding tobacco smoke, UV light and other causes of cancer yet we have ruled out other methods that could naturally prevent it.
Studies in the past five years have revealed some surprising properties of broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower.
These vegetables are members of the cruciform family, known as cruciferous vegetables, and are natural inhibitors of cancers such as prostate, colon and leukemia.
Earlier this year, one study at the Lebanese American University in Beirut introduced a secondary prevention method showing a decrease in cancer incidence due to the consumption of a cabbage-based diet.
As well as being the principle ingredient in coleslaw, cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable that contains potent anti-cancer properties. Dr Ralph Abi Habib, an assistant professor who worked on the team at the university, says: “It is not the nature of the cabbage itself that prevents this disease. It goes way beyond that and much more on the molecular level.”
Abi Habib explains what happens when a person eats some cabbage. “Upon chewing these super-veggies,” he says, “the released compounds in the mouth known as glucosinolates react with saliva and transform in the body into what is called sulforaphanes.”
It is these sulforaphanes that fascinate Abi Habib – because, as he says, they have “remarkable abilities in cancer prevention”. Their cancer inhibiting properties have been recognised for years, but not understood. Until Dr Emily Ho took up the challenge. Ho, an associate professor from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, has recently uncovered the mechanism of how sulforaphanes fight cancer.
Ho performed a trial on mice with prostate cancer. The study demonstrated that sulforaphane is an inhibitor of the enzyme histone deacetylase, the engine for cancer initiation and progression. Without energy, cancer cells can no longer divide or multiply. Ho found that as the amounts of sulforaphane injected into the mice increased, the number of dead cancerous cells within the mice also rose. “Here we show for the first time that sulforaphane selectively targets cancerous prostate cells while leaving the normal prostate cells unaffected,” she says.
At the moment the drugs to treat cancer are powerful and often produce highly unpleasant side effects. One alternative that can now be added to the list focuses on plant-based diets – which have no side effects whatsoever. This does not necessarily mean that the constant consumption of vegetables assures full safety, but it does reduce its incidence. “For every leaf of cabbage consumed, around 3.17 mg of sulforaphanes are released. This may appear to be a very minute amount, but its effect is highly potent,” says Abi Habib.