Cancer and Leafy Green Vegetables

The more I research the more I find research that supports the facts that eating leafy green vegetables helps in the avoidance and recovery of various Cancers.

CHINESE women who ate cabbage, broccoli and leafy greens saw improved survival rates after breast cancer than women who did not eat these cruciferous vegetables, according to a US study.

The findings came from data on 4886 Chinese breast cancer survivors age 20-75 who were diagnosed with stage one to stage four breast cancer from 2002 to 2006 and who were part of the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival study.

Women who ate more cruciferous vegetables over the 36 months following their diagnosis saw their risk of dying from any cause decrease by 27 per cent to 62 per cent compared to women who reporting eating little or none of these veggies.

The risk of dying of breast cancer decreased by 22 to 62 per cent for the cruciferous veggie eaters, and their chance of experiencing a recurrence of breast cancer dropped by 21 to 35 per cent.

Sarah Nechuta, a postdoctoral research fellow at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, said the findings suggest breast cancer survivors "may consider increasing intake of cruciferous vegetables, such as greens, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, as part of a healthy diet".

Ms Nechuta, who presented the study at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Chicago, pointed out that diets among Chinese and Western women tend to vary.

"Commonly consumed cruciferous vegetables in China include turnips, Chinese cabbage/bok choy and greens, while broccoli and brussels sprouts are the more commonly consumed cruciferous vegetables in the United States and other Western countries," she said.

"Second, the amount of intake among Chinese women is much higher than that of US women."

Ms Nechuta said future research could focus on the role of the bioactive compounds in cruciferous vegetables - namely isothiocyanates and indoles - and how varying doses may have an effect on cancer.

There benifits have also been connected to other cancers like Lung & Colon as well as decreasing the risk of birth defects. These vegetables need to be introduced into a child’s diet as soon as possible not only to help them at that stage but to create good habits that will last a life time (not to mention we as parents need to set the example). I understand getting children to eat vegies can be a struggle for some but that’s where imagination must kick in! Add some Soy Sauce possibly or even make up a pasta sauce and cut/grate them finely so they can’t pick them out! (I did this with my kids and now if they eat pasta at someone else’s house that doesn’t contain veggies they think it’s bland and uninteresting)

So eat up everyone! If you don’t like them steamed there are plenty of other ways that are delicious :)))