Cauliflower – A White Knight Against Cancer

You’ll want to include cauliflower as one of the cruciferous vegetables you eat on a regular basis if you want to receive the fantastic health benefits provided by the cruciferous vegetable family. At a minimum, include cruciferous vegetables as part of your diet 2-3 times per week, and make the serving size at least 1-1/2 cups.Although cauliflower’s darker-hued brother, broccoli, has gotten most of the attention for its healing potential, cauliflower is also generously endowed with cancer-preventing powers. In fact, cauliflower is one of the most powerful healing foods you can buy.Researchers have found two potent munitions in cauliflower’s cancer-fighting arsenal: the phytonutrients sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol, or I3C. These compounds, which are found in all cruciferous vegetables, may be the reason that studies consistently show that folks who make a habit of crunching crucifers are less likely to get cancer.

In one study, scientists at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore exposed 145 laboratory animals to high doses of an extremely powerful cancer-causing agent. Of those, 120 were given high levels of protective sulforaphane. Fifty days later, 68 percent of the unprotected animals had breast tumors, compared with only 26 percent of those that received the sulforaphane.Sulforaphane works by stepping up the production of enzymes in your body that sweep toxins out the door before they can damage your body’s cells, making them cancerous.Cauliflower’s other tumor-squelching compound, I3C, works as an anti-estrogen. In other words, it reduces level of harmful estrogens that can foster tumor growth in hormone-sensitive cells, like those in the breasts and prostate gland.

That is why, although studies show that people who eat cruciferous vegetables are protected from all kinds of cancers, these foods are probably most useful for fighting cancers of the colon, breast, and prostate.