Raw Broccoli's Sulphoraphanes May Help Prevent Cancer

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Chewing This Veggie Could Stop Cancer

Chewing raw broccoli--and it has to be raw, not cooked--releases a

potent chemical that inhibits the oxidizing enzymes in our bodies that

damage DNA and potentially cause cancer, reports New Scientist.

Translation: Eating broccoli could prevent cancer.

Led by Matusheski, researchers at the University of Illinois in

Urbana-Champaign found that when raw broccoli is chewed, its cells

rupture. That causes an enzyme to be released that produces a class of

chemicals called sulphoraphanes. Not all sulphoraphanes are created

equal, though. Matusheski found that only 20 percent of the broccoli

we buy from the grocery store has the special kind of sulphoraphanes

that have an extra sulphur atom in each molecule. This extra atom is

what provides the cancer protection.

Here's the downside: Cook the broccoli and the enzyme that produces

sulphoraphanes--the anti-cancer compound--is destroyed. The research

was presented at the American Chemical Society's annual meeting in New

Orleans.