One of the latest key words in the field of oncology that treats cancer is ‘chemoprevention’. It means using natural or synthetic chemical compounds as a cancer-preventing strategy. These compounds can delay the onset of cancer, inhibit its spread or best of all reverse carcinogenesis. Researchers have known for some time that the cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, brussel sprouts and cauliflower are loaded with chemopreventive agents. More recently new chemopreventive compounds have been discovered in celery, artichokes, and parsley, but in small amounts. Studies performed on large populations have provided evidence that the folks whose consumption of larger amounts of these vegetables have lower rates of a number of cancers. Those cancers include breast, colon, lung, and prostate cancers.
The good news is that some of the newly discovered vegetable compounds may have even more potent chemopreventative effects. For example one of these compounds called apigenin has shown multiple chemopreventative means to protect us against cancer. It can kill cancer cells by starving them, by preventing them from spreading, and by preventing inflammation that can allow a cancer to spread. Another compound benzl isothiocyanate (BITC) gives cancer cells the signal to shut down and die. BITC messes with the cancer cells life cycle to prevent them from growing and replicating so they die. These newly discovered chemopreventative compounds have been combined with the established ones into a combined formulation of vegetable extracts that are now available in supplement form to promote senior health.