A new study of women in China found that those who consumed the most cruciferous vegetables were 63 percent less likely to die of breast cancer and 35 percent less likely to experience a recurrence of the disease, than those who ate the least.

Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, mustard greens, collard greens, kale and arugula.

This study involved almost 5,000 women between 20 and 75 years old who were part of the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study. Researchers interviewed the women within six months of their diagnosis to record information about their diet, lifestyle and tumor stage. They also asked about their intake of cruciferous vegetables at 18 and 36 months after their diagnosis. On average, the women in the new study ate about 3 1/2 ounces a day of cruciferous vegetables.

Previous studies conducted in China, the United States and Sweden suggested that higher cruciferous vegetable intake could be linked with reduced risk of developing breast cancer, but the current research is among the first to examine women after a breast cancer diagnosis.

More Benefits

In addition to finding a reduced risk of dying of breast cancer or having it return, the researchers also found that women in the top quarter for cruciferous veggie consumption were 62 percent less likely to die of any cause than those in the bottom 25 percent. This supports previous research in which the same researchers found a link between cruciferous vegetable consumption and fewer deaths and less heart disease among healthy Chinese adults, suggesting that they may promote overall health.

Cruciferous vegetables are just one food proven to help prevent cancer, there’s four more in this article highlighting the Five All-Star Foods to Help Prevent Cancer.

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Health Finder

When anyone asks if you're doing anything special for your St. Patrick's Day holiday celebration, assure them you'll be getting all the green you need for your good health by eating broccoli, among the stable of cruciferous "superfoods" chock full of cancer- and oxidative stress-fighting nutrients.

The real trick about enjoying all these benefits, however: Preparing these foods can preserve or eliminate most of the benefits you're hoping to receive from eating them. Nothing drives this point home better than a recent University of Illinois study that examined how these nutrients can be depleted or enhanced by the way broccoli is cooked.

Deriving any benefit from broccoli depends on the presence of myrosinase, an enzyme many of us destroy just by overcooking it. The problem: If myrosinase is not present, sulforaphane, the cancer preventative and anti-inflammatory component in broccoli, won't form. And, folks hoping to improve their health by adding broccoli powder alone to their foods may be missing out too, researchers say, because most powders don't contain myrosinase.

Researchers compared urine and blood samples of four healthy men after eating meals supplemented with 2 grams of broccoli powder, 2 grams of broccoli sprouts, a combination of both ingredients and neither one. Sulforaphane absorption was the highest -- almost a two-fold increase -- when patients ate a combo of sprouts and broccoli powder, than when either was consumed alone.

Another way medical experts believe you can boost the healthy-promoting effects of broccoli: Eat it with other foods that contain sulforaphane, like radishes, argula, wasabi and mustard.

Nutrition and Cancer January 13, 2011

ScienceDaily January 27, 2011

Nutraingredients-USA.com January 19, 2011

If you or someone you care about has been suffering from Crohn's disease for any length of time, you'll probably be very encouraged by this recent study about fibers from bananas and broccoli blocking the infiltration of a stickier form of E.coli bacteria in the cells lining the bowel (a Crohn's trigger point).

In a comparison of fibers from various whole foods, broccoli and plantains reduced the invasion of bacteria that spurs diarrhea by as much as 82 percent, but leeks and apple fibers had little to no impact.

Researchers also tested the effect of fat emulsifiers used to make processed foods and cosmetics -- polysorbate 60 and 80 -- on bowel lining cells. Polysorbate 80, a common chemical used to make ice cream and medicines, greatly increased the invasion of harmful bacteria.

Which explains, in a nutshell, why you should be incorporating more of nature's healthiest whole superfoods into your daily diet.

BMJ Group Free Full Text Study

BBC News August 25, 2010

NutraIngredients-USA.com August 26, 2010

ScienceDaily August 25, 2010