Posted on 02/08/2006 3:16:55 PM PST by blam
Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower: the vegetables that may prevent cancer
· Foods contain chemicals that help repair DNA
· Study backs link between diet and disease
Ian Sample, science correspondent
Wednesday February 8, 2006
The Guardian (UK)
Natural chemicals found in soya beans and vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower boost the body's ability to repair damaged DNA and may prevent cells turning cancerous, scientists said yesterday. Studies have suggested that eating vegetables appears to provide some protection against certain cancers, but until now the reason why has been a mystery.
Researchers at Georgetown University in Washington DC believe the answer lies with two naturally occurring compounds. The first, indole-3-carbinol or I3C is abundant in vegetables including broccoli and cabbage, while the second, genistein, occurs naturally in soya beans.
The researchers found that when the chemicals were added to cells they boosted the activity of two genes, known as BRCA1 and BRCA2, both of which play a crucial role in detecting damaged DNA and marshalling a cell's response to fix it. Mutations in either of these genes often lead to breast, ovarian and prostate cancer because they are unable to prevent damaged DNA being passed on to the next generation of cells.
Writing in the British Journal of Cancer, the researchers said that since very low levels of BRCA proteins are seen in cancerous cells, higher levels might prevent cancer developing.
"We know that one of the functions of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes is to maintain genomic integrity, and to do that, they first have to be able to detect DNA damage and signal to the cell that it is there, and then become involved in repairing it," said Eliot Rosen, the lead author of the study.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Maybe the carrot juice was just a cover for the vodka. ;)
I have just enough Slovak blood in me to know how good that must be. Yummmm!
Yummo! I love cabbage, all the cruciforms. Broccoli, collards, cauliflower, bok choy. Mmmmm, now I'm hungry. Cabbage soup sounds delish!
Have you had cabbage stuffed into bread and rolled flat and baked like a pizza (pagach)? Yummo! Some Italian pizza chains (Villa Pizza, Sbarro) serve something like a bread roll stuffed with broccoli and cheese, also very good, one of my favs.
.... mmmmm .... cabbage .... quartered and simmered in the pot with corned beef for about 20 minutes ... drain, slather with butter, and top with coarse cracked black pepper
healhy vegs ping : )
I just restocked the freezer with all those healthy veggies...hubby may not like them, but I do. ;)
Someone get a wet cloth for SG's head as I'm sure she is lightheaded reading about veggies.....
bttt
Hey, these are the only kind I like! As oppposed to that weird concoction called sal-ad.
Oh, that's really good also! Not as good as butter, but then, IMO, nothing is except perhaps on a salad then I've got to agree with you :-)
"..but then again I'm of the frame of mind you can put butter on a (insert word of choice here). and it'd probably taste wonderful."
I agree... My wife and I are both the same way with garlic too: If it isn't pastry, its getting some garlic.
"You're really an optimist!"
When it comes to food? Yup!
Especially if it's been roasted in the oven with a little oil and salt, served with some great crusty bread and Brie....:-)
"Especially if it's been roasted in the oven with a little oil and salt, served with some great crusty bread and Brie....:-)"
Oh Yeah! That's some good eatin' right there!
" I can't stand eating any of them."
All right... trust me on this...
Blanch cut some Brussels sprouts in half, blanch them for just a few minutes in salted water, and then saute' them in butter till their cute ends are slightly browned.
The reason I say this is that so far it seems even people who don't like Brussels sprouts end up liking these..
I can't understand why people don't like these vegetables - I'm on the love 'em side. My favorite way of cooking broccoli is saute with garlic and onions and some Cajun spice, then add lemon juice, white wine and soy sauce. Serve over rice of pasta. YUM! Works well with asparagus, too, and when you can get 'em, fiddleheads. I think I'm going to have to try brussels sprouts this way.
There's a lady I know
If I didn't know her
She'd be the lady I didn't know.
And my lady, she went downtown
She bought some broccoli
She brought it home.
She's chopping broccoli
Chopping broccoli
Chopping broccoli
Chopping broccoli
She's chopping broccoli
She's chopping broccoli
She's chop.. ooh!
She's chopping broccola-ah-ie!
I love them all except collards, but broccoli is the best. I'd have to say I have it at least twice a week, sometimes much more. Brussel sprouts once a week.
I guess I'm lucky I like all of them. I also eat kale, collard greens, beet greens and even seaweed on occasion.
The surgeon told me not to eat any of those vegetables after I had my gallbladder out.
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