If you're a woman, you're probably concerned about the potential for developing breast cancer. With the sobering statistics of one in seven women developing this disease at some point in her lifetime, it's important that women take action to reduce their risk of this common form of cancer.
The answer may be as simple as adding a common and inexpensive vegetable to your dinner plate on a regular basis. This vegetable has developed the reputation of being one of the very best foods to prevent breast cancer. What is it? It's the vegetable your mother always told you to eat, broccoli.
Why does broccoli seem to be such an effective anti cancer agent? Broccoli contains an important chemical known as sulforaphane which has been shown to be a strong inhibitor of not only only breast cancer cells, but several other types of cancer as well. Sulforaphane is rapidly becoming known among cancer researchers as being a biochemical with strong anti-cancer properties.
Broccoli is not the only vegetable that has significant quantities of sulforaphane. Other cruciferous vegetables are also sources for sulforaphane, but the highest concentrations of this remarkable biochemical are found in broccoli and broccoli sprouts. If you don't enjoy the taste of broccoli, you still can increase your intake of sulforaphanes by adding other members of the cruciferous vegetable family to your diet such as cabbage, Brussels sprouts, turnips, and radishes, although you may need to eat more to get the same effects as a smaller serving of broccoli.
How does sulforaphane exert its anti-cancer effects? Sulforaphane seems to work by enhancing the body's ability to produce phase 2 enzymes by the liver. These specialized enzymes help to detoxify cancer causing substances that enter your body on a daily basis. Studies have shown that this can be a highly effective way to reduce your risk for cancer. This has earned broccoli the reputation as being one of the very best foods to prevent breast cancer.
As it turns out, the amount of sulforaphane present in broccoli is influenced by the way in which the vegetable is cooked. Scientists have discovered the best way to maintain the high levels of sulforaphane in broccoli is to lightly steam it for around four minutes. At this stage, the broccoli should still be firm, but tender. According to a study, broccoli should be heated to maximize sulforaphane since heating deactivates a heat sensitive protein that can deplete sulforaphane levels, destroying many of broccoli's anti-cancer properties. You goal should be to steam your broccoli at around 140 degrees Fahrenheit for four minutes to maximize its anti-cancer potential.
If eating steamed broccoli isn't practical for you, there are a variety of other options available for getting your daily dose of sulforaphane. Many grocery stores now carry broccoli sprouts. Three day old broccoli sprouts have been reported to have up to fifty times the amount of sulforaphane as the mature vegetable and can be added to sandwiches, soups, and salads. There are also broccoli tablets and teas which are reportedly high in sulforaphane.
While eating broccoli is no guarantee of remaining cancer free, this humble vegetable seems to be a rising star on the list of foods that prevent breast cancer. Why not add some broccoli to your diet? It's a cheap and tasty little insurance policy against an increasingly common form of cancer.
