Broccoli – A Super Food With Anti Cancer Properties

There are a number of reasons why we eat broccoli – taste is not the only one reason. We know that the vegetable is really good for us for a number of reasons and now we know that broccoli has anti-cancer properties as well!

Scientists have now pinpointed a chemical found in broccoli, called sulforaphane that counters the fault in the PTEN gene that is connected to prostate cancer.

Ordinarily the PTEN gene is responsible for stopping the cancer from developing, however if there is an abnormality in the gene, then it fails to do its job properly and this is when the disease will actually occur.

The chemical sulforaphane however is seen to counter this defect by reducing the impact of the cells that are deficient in the PTEN gene – this is how broccoli is able to prevent cancer being triggered.

The research results which were arrived at by a team at the Institute of Food Research at the Norwich Research Park are promising in that they could provide insight for developing new treatments for prostate cancer, which is one of the most common cancers.

So if mom said to finish the entire broccoli on your plate, she had good reason, perhaps you can pass on the same lesson to your own child!