Broccoli may benefit health

Wayne Turner, of Dunedin, asked:

Can eating one small piece of raw broccoli with each meal help reduce one’s risk of developing cancer?

Jason Gurney, of the cancer and chronic conditions research group at the department of public health, University of Otago (Wellington), responded:

While this question sounds simple, I’m afraid to say that there is no simple answer or, at least, no simple answer that is 100% accurate. Our understanding of what causes various kinds of cancer (breast, prostate, colon, and so on) is always improving, and there is a lot that we still don’t know.

Based on a lot of good research, it seems that eating a diet that has plenty of fruit and vegetables can help to prevent certain kinds of cancer, including breast and colon cancer. We think that a good diet might help to prevent lots of other cancers too, but the evidence just isn’t strong enough yet.

Broccoli belongs to a group of vegetables called ‘‘cruciferous’’ vegetables, a group that also includes bok choy, cauliflower and others. In a laboratory, researchers have found that these vegetables release certain compounds that help to prevent cancer growth, by doing things such as protecting cells from damage to their DNA. It’s incredible to think that something I grow in my own backyard has anticancer properties!

However, it’s important to remember that these findings were made in laboratories, mainly through animal experiments. Of course, human life isn’t played out in a laboratory every day, we are exposed to some things that might increase our chance of getting cancer, and some things that might decrease that chance. When researchers have looked at the link between these ‘‘cruciferous’’ vegetables and cancer risk in humans, the results have not been clear. More topquality research is needed to help us figure out whether eating these kinds of vegetables regularly actually reduces cancer risk.

So, we can’t say for certain whether eating one piece of raw broccoli with each meal will definitely reduce your chance of developing cancer in the future. That question is probably impossible to answer. However, based on the best research that has been done so far, we can say that eating a diet that is rich in fruit and vegetables, as well as keeping other healthy habits, such as not smoking, regular exercise, and being sunsmart, is the best way to reduce your chances of developing some cancers.

My advice is to find the vegetables that you love the most, and fill your plate with them.

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