Eating green helps avoid colon cancer

Your front line of defense against inflammation and colon cancer turns out to be from the giants of green veggies: broccoli, kale, collards and other cruciferous plants.

Researchers in London have found a couple of health-promoting chemical building blocks contained in those powerful veggie defenders. They’re released in your gut when you digest the above-mentioned nutritional linemen and their teammates cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts. Once let loose to play in your intestinal tract, they help create a team that encourages your body to regulate inflammation and modulate immune cell activity.

The researchers were amazed to find that when these veggies were fed to mice, they not only prevented colon cancer, but in mice that had colon cancer, they reduced the number and size of tumors and made some of them benign!

So,doyouneedanother reason to make a healthy serving of these defensive players a big part of your daily diet? Enjoy munching on these Green Giants (dip them in chickpea hummus) when watching football. Atleastyouknowthen,for sure, you’ll be a winner.

Mushrooms’ hidden power

Psilocybin mushrooms can turn your mind to mush, but white button mushrooms turn out to have transformative powers that are positive and far-reaching. Researchers from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have discovered that these most common of edible fungi (they’re not as exotic as shiitake, cremini, portobello, oyster, chanterelles or reishi) are powerful prebiotics that can help prevent runaway blood sugar levels.

The way they do that, ac- cording to a study published in the Journal of Functional Foods, is as circuitous as Alice’s journey through Wonderland. It seems the ’shrooms are gobbled up and fermented by good-for-you gut bacteria in the large intestine, goosing them to produce more short-chain fatty acids. These heart-loving, inflammation-dampening SCFAS are then able to change genes (that’s epigenetics in action) along a gut-brain pathway, so production of glucose is more effectively managed. All it took was about 3 ounces (one serving) a day to get that benefit.

So slice and saute them with spinach and garlic, put them into soups and stews and broil them with fish or skinless chicken. And for more info on other mushrooms’ benefits, check out: “Anti-inflammatory Diet

Tip: Mushrooms” on Sharecare.com.

Email questions for Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen to youdocsdaily@sharecare. com.