August was harvest time – time to reap the great veggie benefits that were planted with care in the spring. While all veggies have health benefits, some have cancer fighting phytochemicals that can help prevent cancer. As rates of cancer continue to rise we feel our best defence is a good offence – that being a cancer preventative diet regime. While there are many tips and tricks for preventing cancer, we thought we would write for the season, the harvest season that is, so at your next trip to the farmer’s market you can incorporate some cancer fighting foods into weekly groceries.

Brassica Family

  1. Brassica Family: The Brassicas are a genus of plants that include cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, turnip, rutabaga, radish, watercress and collards. Brassicas contain a phytochemical called indole-3-carbinol which can help reduce the risk for hormonally driver cancers such as ovarian, breast and prostate cancer. They also contain phytochemicals which help improve our liver’s detoxification process, and help prevent damage to our DNA. Although Brassicas are a welcome addition to our diet, they may not be to our digestive tract – to help reduce the incidence of gas and bloating, either boil cabbage or lightly steam other Brassicas. If you have a thyroid condition consult with a medical professional about the best way to incorporate the benefits of Brassicas into your diet as raw Brassicas can sometimes interfere with the thyroid function.

Meal suggestions: Add Brassicas to a stir fry, kale to a smoothie or use collard and kale leaves for a sandwich in place of bread.

Garlic

  1. Garlic: Most of us have probably heard of some type of natural remedy that involves the use of garlic, but we may not know why it’s so effective. Garlic has many medicinal qualities that make it a good all round natural remedy for just about anything: it’s antibacterial, antifungal and anti-viral. These properties help prevent cancers from infectious diseases such as H.Pylori (the precursor to stomach cancer) and HPV (the precursor for ovarian cancer). But garlic is also a great source of selenium which is a trace mineral that helps inhibit the growth of cancer. It also enhances the body’s detoxification process, which is a very important factor for surviving a toxic world (see the Rubber Duck Book).

Meal suggestions: While eating garlic raw gives the best benefit, it’s not necessarily the easiest way. Try swallowing small cloves, or adding it to meals such as pasta or stir-fries. A tasty way we like to eat raw garlic is in a guacamole: mash up a couple of avocadoes with a couple of cloves of freshly crushed garlic and chopped onion. It’s a tasty addition to snacks, sandwiches or summer BBQ’d foods.