Eating all your veggies is a good thing, says every parent and doctor. We all grew up hearing this, but still fail to incorporate enough fresh produce in our daily diets. In many cases, vegetables don’t even make it into shopping carts, let alone dinner plates. It’s not until patients become ill when they decide it’s time to change their eating habits. Alternative cancer treatment centers emphasize the importance of a healthy diet when combating cancer.
While all vegetables are good for you in some shape or fashion, there are certain ones that excel in fighting cancer. One of them is broccoli. Research has shown that broccoli offers a tremendous amount of benefits.
According to studies, this green cruciferous vegetable is capable of reducing your chances of getting all sorts of common diseases, such as:
- Cancer
- Arthritis
- Kidney disease
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Diabetes
Broccoli Has Compounds that Enhance Your Wellbeing
There are various ways broccoli helps to improve your overall wellbeing. Eating a side of broccoli will give you a ton of greatness, including:
- Fiber: This will help you to stay thinner, strengthen your immune system, and nourish your microbiome.
- Sulforaphane: This has anti-cancerous effects on the body. Studies shows that this actually helps to program the death of cancerous cells inside of the prostate, colon, breast and lungs (caused by smoking). Three servings weekly can reduce prostate cancer risk by over 60 percent.
- Glucoraphanin: This is a precursor of sulforaphane that affects the carcinogensis and mutagensis processes. Broccoli sprouts seem to have 20 times more of this compound than matured broccoli.
- Phenolic compounds: This is made with penolic acids and flavonoids, which are potent in eliminating free radicals and reducing inflammation. This decreases your overall risk of type 2 diabetes, asthma and heart disease.
- Diindolylmethane or DIM: This is naturally produced by your body when it breaks down broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables. It helps to improve your immune function and prevents or treats cancer.
You can learn a lot more about how to change your diet when you visit an alternative cancer treatment center in Arizona.
Lower Your Chances of Liver Cancer and Fatty Liver
Fatty liver is a disease that is non-related to alcohol consumption. This occurs quite often, affecting as many as 25 percent of the American population (children included). Fatty liver comes about when your liver accumulates lots of fat. This normally stems from eating too much net carbs, especially when it derives from junk foods that contain fructose, such as sodas and juices. It’s important to treat fatty liver quickly, so that it doesn’t turn into liver cancer.
In this case, sugar is like alcohol – when you consume a lot of it, it overloads your liver, causing damage. Studies do show that eating broccoli over a long period of time can help reduce your chances of getting fatty liver and liver cancer, since it helps to reduce your levels of triglycerides inside your liver.
Broccoli Sprouts Are the Best
There’s definitely a difference between broccoli sprouts and matured broccoli. Sprouts have shown to be much higher in nutrition, so the benefits exceed that of matured broccoli. Those who can’t really stomach the smell or taste of broccoli can eat sprouted broccoli seeds. You don’t need to eat as much to gain the benefits they offer.
Studies show that three-day old broccoli sprouts have between 20 and 50 times more chemoprotective essentials than mature broccoli heads. There are a variety of other benefits also associated with this superfood. For instance, it contains high amounts of essential fatty acids, fiber and can improve the bioavailability of protein and minerals you consume from other foods. Another upside is that you can eat them as is – no cooking needed.
Most people eat sprouted broccoli seeds inside of their salad, so they can be pretty convenient. They’re also easy on the wallet, since you can buy the seeds and sprout them yourself at home.
If you’re looking to improve your diet to prevent cancer, then you should consult with an Arizona doctor who practices integrative medicine. Those who are already battling the disease can seek the help of an alternative cancer treatment center.