No. 288 - Cruciferous Vegetables

I read an article today that suggested that breast cancer awareness campaigns cause more harm than good. I hope that is not true, but I often wonder who those people are that aren't "aware" of breast cancer.

Breast cancer awareness campaigns seem to be aimed at having women get screened more often. I don't know if that helps or not. I'm not a doctor. And I don't play one on TV either.

I have focused my attention, however, in recent years on the campaign to have everyone "roll up their sleeves" and get an annual flu shot. Interestingly, I have not seen any public service announcements advising people to increase their vitamin D levels in the fall and winter months, as a natural alternative. I wonder why that is. It is well-known that exposure to sunlight is an important source of vitamin D. It is further well-known that in the northern hemisphere the average amount of sunlight from November to February is insufficient to produce significant vitamin D synthesis in the skin. With less vitamin D our immune systems are more susceptible to disease, including the flu.

I have never, and will never, take a flu shot. I do consciously eat more food high in vitamin D in the fall and winter. And guess what? I never get the flu. Imagine that.

So anyway, the article ended with the following advice:

Real breast cancer awareness involves taking active steps to improve your health naturally, both nutritionally and environmentally. These include maintaining optimal vitamin D levels in your blood, avoiding exposure to toxins that cause cancer and eating plenty of cruciferous vegetables rich in anti-cancer nutrient.

Cruciferous vegetables? Now there's a ten-dollar word of the day.

I learned that this family of vegetables takes its name from the Latin word, cruciferae, meaning cross-bearing , from the shape of their flowers, whose four petals resemble a cross. Cruciferous vegetables are one of the dominant food crops worldwide. Widely considered to be healthy foods, they are high in vitamin C and soluble fiber and contain multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties.

Some of the more popular vegetables in this category include: broccoli, brussels spout, cabbage, cauliflower, radish, and wasabi, the subject of Post No. 46.