The cabbage family is not the only group of foods that has shown potential to block the cancer process. Other foods may also have this ability – and some may be even more potent than foods of the cabbage family.

But the evidence for these other foods is not as strong. Some foods have inhibited cancer in studies on animals, but studies with humans have yet to be done. Other foods have been studied in only one or two experiments – too few for judgment. This is why some health institution such as Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer limited its recommendations to the cabbage family.

Of the other foods that might also contain inhibitors, the evidence is best for citrus fruits. The beneficial effect of these foods has ranged from weak to potent in studies with animals.

As for other foods, the evidence is just beginning to come in. But for your information, I would like you to know some of the possibilities now under further study:

• Celery and spinach have shown slight but significant inhibiting ability.
• Soybeans and lima beans have also shown some potential.
• Grains and vegetable oils may contains a substance with moderate inhibiting power.
• Green coffee beans have shown a powerful inhibiting effect in early studies. But roasted and instant coffee have shown only a weak effect.

Remember: for some of these foods only several studies have been done. This is far too little work to justify changing your diet.

Some Unanswered Questions

Scientists are still a little cautious about the cancer inhibitors in food. They aren’t 100 percent convinced that these substances are only beneficial.

The Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer tells us that its matter of weighing the pluses and minuses. On the balance, the panel scientists agrees that the good points of the cabbage family vegetables outweigh the bad points.

What are the bad points? Mostly, they fall under the label of “uncertain effects.”

As noted earlier, inhibitors seem to activate an enzyme system that is thought to detoxify harmful chemicals. There is some concern that this very same enzyme system may also enhance the power of some chemicals. In other words, the enzyme system may have both good and bad effects.

Despite information on this subject is incomplete, still,  the scientists recommend that we eat citrus fruits, whole grains, and cabbage family vegetables. Obviously, the scientists think that the pluses here outweigh  the minuses.

But until this question is settled, it is best not to go all out with cabbage family vegetables. Eating them often – but not exclusively – is probably the best course of action. Including them in your diet once or twice a week is a cautious, moderate approach.

Putting It All Together

Up to this point, you have read a great deal about fruits, vegetables, and grains. It is fitting, I think, to take a broad look at these foods to see how they score when all protective factors are taken into account.

There are four factors to consider: vitamin A, vitamin C, insoluble fiber, and inhibitors. To take a simple approach to these four factors, I have devised a rating system.

I gave a food one point if it contains a moderate amount of vitamin A and two points for a high level. I used the same system for vitamin C and for insoluble fiber.

I then awarded two points to the four members of the cabbage family that appear to contain a cancer inhibitor other than vitamin A and C or fiber. I gave one point to the other foods that might have a cancer inhibitor.

The Top-Scoring Cancer-Blocking Foods

When all the points were tallied, broccoli and brussels sprouts topped the list.

They were followed by some vegetables that many people eat little of: collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, and rutabagas.

But in third place were some familiar faces: oranges, grapefruit, cabbage, cauliflower, lima beans, and spinach. Watercress also rated with this group.

Chances are that you like some of these foods. Pick the ones you like best, and continue to enjoy them.

Related posts:

1. Cancer Inhibitors in Food
2. Vitamin C Helps You to Fight Cancer, Part II
3. Vitamin C Helps You to Fight Cancer, Part III
4. The Right Vitamin A to Prevent Cancer
5. Vitamin C and Cancer

If you do, then you should think again. Exciting new research shows that nature gives us weapons that can fight back. And these weapons are not in exotic places. They are in common foods.

The substances I am talking about are not considered nutrients, because their absence does not cause a deficiency disease. These substances are little-known food elements. Only a handful of research scientists are familiar with them.

Scientists call them inhibitors. In laboratory animals, these substances show an impressive ability to inhibit the cancer process.

How Cancer Inhibitors Work

A cancer agent, such as one found in cigarette smoke, might cause cancer in half of the animals that are exposed to it. But when an inhibitor is given along with the cancer-causing chemical, fewer animals will develop cancer. The inhibitor prevents the cancer-causing chemical from doing its damage.

Exactly how inhibitors work is not known. But the best theory right now has to do with an enzyme system in the body’s cells. It is called the mixed function oxidase system. Scientists believe that this enzyme system may actually have the power to strip dangerous chemicals of their harmful effects.

Cancer scientists have been curious about inhibitors for a very good reason. Human studies do support the notion that certain foods help to block the cancer process. Several studies have found that people who often eat foods thought to contain inhibitors have less chance of getting cancer.

The Organs That Benefit

For the most part, inhibitors are linked to protection against cancer of the digestive organs. Research ties these inhibitors most strongly to reduced rates of stomach and colon cancer.

Cancer inhibitors may help to explain why many people who are exposed to cancer agents never develop cancer. Think about it. Everyone has been exposed to cancer agents. They are in the air. Or in the water we drink. Or in the work place. And sometimes in our food.

Why, then, does cancer strike one in four – not four in four?

A good intake of cancer inhibitors may be part of the answer.

The Recommendation and How to Meet It

The Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer took a close look at research on cancer inhibitors. The committee made one recommendation after looking at these important findings.

The recommendation advises us to emphasize foods belonging to the cabbage family of vegetables. There is good evidence that these foods contain cancer inhibitors other than vitamins A and C.

The most common foods of the cabbage family are broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and of course, cabbage. Research has linked these four vegetables to reduced risk of both stomach and colon cancer. A few studies also link these foods to lower risk of rectal cancer.

There are other foods in this family of vegetables. But it is not possible to say whether these other foods are also linked to lower risk of these cancers. It is reasonable to believe that these other foods are more likely than not to contain the same cancer-blocking substances. But only further research will give a firm answer.

The following chart lists all the foods belonging to this family.

The Whole Cabbage Family

A Family of Many Names

Scientists have some strange jargon for the foods of the cabbage family. The most technical name for this group of foods is the Brassica family. They also refer to these foods as “cruciferous” vegetables.

The inhibitors found in broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbage have been named indoles. Research on indoles is so recent that tables listing the indoles content of foods are nowhere to be found. So it is not possible to rank foods by their indole level. Also it is not known whether cooking and storage influence the indoles in these foods.

The best advice is to select the foods of this family that you like best and eat them often – perhaps once or twice a week. Remember that many of these foods offer other bonuses: vitamin A or C, a low fat and sodium count, and a modest amount of dietary fiber.

( next story: the Part II )

Related posts:

1. Cancer Inhibitors in Food, part II
2. The Right Vitamin A to Prevent Cancer
3. Vitamin C Helps You to Fight Cancer, Part III
4. Vitamin C Helps You to Fight Cancer, Part II
5. Dietary Fiber Prevents You from Cancer, Part II