Broccoli: How the miracle vegetable protects against prostate cancer
It’s been called the miracle vegetable – and now scientists are finally beginning to understand how broccoli is able to prevent diseases such as prostate cancer.
Men who eat more than one serving a week of broccoli have a much lower risk of developing prostate cancer, and it seems the vegetable can interrupt ‘cancer signals’ to the prostate.
Researchers from the Norwich Research Park assessed the health and genetic profile of two groups of volunteers who ate a diet that was high either in broccoli or peas for a year. The broccoli eaters showed significant changes in their chemical signalling, and the researchers concluded that the sulforaphane found in broccoli interfered with cancer-causing signals to the prostate.
(Source: PloS One, July 2, 2008; 3(7): e2568. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002568).