Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States and was responsible for almost 600,000 deaths in 2017. And while there are several ways to treat and beat cancer naturally, the best way to fight cancer is to prevent it from developing in the first place.
There are several ways to keep cancer at bay, including exercise, avoiding toxins, and getting the right nutrition. But perhaps chief among these is nutrition. The right anti-cancer foods and nutrients can combat cancer by strengthening the immune system, detoxifying the body, reducing inflammation, and preventing cancer cells from replicating.
I’ve put together 5 amazing cancer-fighting vegetables to add to your anti-cancer diet that will drastically increase your chances of keeping cancer at bay. Not only that, but these foods serve in a myriad of ways to help support a healthy body. With the right nutrition, you can ensure a happy, healthy lifestyle.
Modern medicine relies heavily on drugs and other invasive interventions to fight disease, but these treatments generally address symptoms and not causes. They are reactive measures instead of proactive measures. We are blessed to find everything we need in nature… most disease is man-made and we can prevent it!
So here they are: the top 5 cancer-fighting veggies to help you stay vibrant and healthy.
1| Garlic
Garlic is one of my favorite foods for cooking. It’s a flavorful addition that’s great in almost any dish. But more importantly, it has an abundance of health benefits. Packed with vitamins C and B6, selenium, and fiber, garlic is a great source of nutrients. It can also help treat hypertension by lowering blood pressure, possesses antioxidant properties, and is a powerful detoxifying agent.
But perhaps most importantly, garlic has powerful anti-cancer abilities. A 2009 study published in the journal Food Chemistry found that garlic was able to completely stop cancer growth for certain cancers. Lung, brain, breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancers were all effectively stopped. According to the study’s authors:
All members of the Allium family tested in this study were powerful inhibitors of tumour cell proliferation. In fact, among all vegetables tested in this study, the extract from garlic was by far the strongest inhibitor of tumour cell proliferation, with complete growth inhibition of all tested cell lines.”
Here’s a tasty Black Bean Hummus recipe featuring a whole lot of this cancer-fighting food.
2| Broccoli
Broccoli is a member of the cruciferous vegetable family and a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants protect against cell damage caused by free radicals. These rogue cells are thought to be a major cause of cancer proliferation. It also contains a powerful nutrient compound known as sulforaphane.
Sulforaphane has been the subject of hundreds of peer-reviewed studies and is one of the most proven nutrients for blocking the progression and formation of cancer. It can also help to induce apoptosis, which is the body’s natural system of programmed cell death when cells become damaged or mutated. Without apoptosis, damaged cells are allowed to multiply and spread, leading to cancer.
Cruciferous veggies like broccoli also contain vitamins C, K, and E, are anti-inflammatory, and can help prevent angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels that helps cancer proliferate). It has also been shown to render carcinogens inactive, which is essential in today’s toxic world.
Go here to learn how to prepare broccoli to get the most health benefits.
3| Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts are loaded with nutrients, including vitamin C, potassium, and B vitamins, plus it has antioxidant properties. Another member of the cruciferous family, these sprouts are rich in sulfur-containing compounds called glucosinolates, which support detoxification, and indole-3-carbinol which reduces the risk of breast, colon, and lung cancer. Glucosinolates also assist in suppressing carcinogens and inducing apoptosis.
If all that isn’t enough, Brussels sprouts are also an anti-inflammatory, which is important. Chronic inflammation is at the root of most chronic disease, so anything you can do to reduce it is a huge win.
Click here to get my recipe for Brussels Sprout Chiffonade with Shallots and Pine Nuts.
4| Kale
Yet another cruciferous veggie (noticing a trend?), kale is an excellent source of antioxidants, calcium, vitamin C, and chlorophyll.
Chlorophyll helps to prevent the body from absorbing carcinogens. Kale has also been shown to defend against diabetes and heart disease.
Kale is also a major source of organosulfer compounds, which have been shown in studies to reduce the risk of cancer. It is also a source of sulforaphane, a type of glucosinolate. Sulforaphane also boosts your immune system, which is the bodies natural defense system and your best bet for preventing disease.
In the kitchen, kale can be used in many ways…
Check out this delicious Detoxifying Cauliflower, Kale, and Pine Nut Confetti Recipe.
5| Artichokes
Artichokes are actually a perennial thistle, but they’re absolutely loaded with nutrients. Vitamins C, K, and B9, calcium, iron, and potassium are just a few of the health benefits you’ll get from artichokes. They can help prevent coronary disease and have antioxidant properties to help fight free radicals.
One study found that extracts from artichoke leaves can inhibit cancer growth and activity. And by inducing apoptosis, they are especially effective at combating breast cancer.
Artichokes are one of my favorite veggies. Below is a tasty French-inspired recipe that is sure to please!
The galette is an open faced pie that originates in France. This delightful entree features a gluten-free, dairy-free, buckwheat flax base filled with tasty veggies famed for their anti-cancer benefits.
Artichokes have recently been noticed for their liver and kidney detoxifying attributes and anti-cancer phytonutrients of quercetin, rutin, and cynarin. These are concentrated antioxidants that help shrink tumors and prevent them from spreading.
Combined with the remaining super spices and ingredients this dish is sure to become a favorite anti-cancer meal option.
Ingredients
- 8 artichoke hearts, quartered
- 3 baby turnips, quartered
- 1 cup fresh spinach leaves, washed and coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- ¾ cup red onion, julienned
- 1 clove garlic, crushed and chopped
- 2-3 tablespoons pine nuts (optional)
- 6 fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Splash of Balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup spring OR filtered water
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon pink OR sea salt, to taste
- 1 ¼ cup buckwheat flour (or grind your own from untoasted buckwheat kernels)
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed (or grind your own from organic flax seeds)
- ½ cup cold pressed coconut oil, semi-hard
- ½ teaspoon fine pink OR sea salt
- ¼ cup very cold water, added gradually
Instructions
- If using frozen artichoke hearts, take out eight artichoke hearts and set aside in a bowl to defrost.
- In a separate bowl add all the remaining ingredients except pine nuts, spinach, salt and pepper.
- Stir in the artichoke hearts when semi-defrosted.
- Heat a saucepan on the stove until the teaspoon of coconut oil melts. Then place all the ingredients in the pan, except the pine nuts and spinach, over medium low heat stirring occasionally until the artichokes are tender (approximately 10-15 minutes).
- Allow to cool then adjust the seasoning by adding salt and pepper to taste.
- In a bowl add the buckwheat, flax flour, and salt mixing it with a fork for even distribution.
- Add the coconut oil and blend with a pastry cutter or large fork. When it looks like pea sized crumbs, add water slowly and knead with hands gently a few strokes until it holds together like cookie dough. Note: this process can be accomplished very quickly in a food processor with the plastic blade or regular blade on pulse for 30 seconds until the dough forms.
- Then place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out with a rolling pin. Place in a lightly oiled 9-inch pie or tart dish allowing the excess to hang over the sides. Add the spinach and pine nuts to the filling and place the filling inside the dish, folding the dough slightly over the first two inches of filling.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or until the crust is light brown.
- Allow to cool for five minutes. Then slice into eight pieces and serve with additional pine nuts and drizzled extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy!
If you want to get a head start on cancer prevention, these veggies are a great way to start. You’ll be able to reduce inflammation and angiogenesis, promote apoptosis and healthy immune function, detoxify and neutralize harmful carcinogens, and attack the mechanisms that cancer cells use to grow.
Even better, you’ll be providing your body with tons of essential nutrients and minerals. Be sure to buy organic and balance your diet with all of the other nutrients you need to stay healthy.
Love reading good health advice.
Good to hear, Shirlon! 🙂
Very interesting articles. Thank you for posting them, Charlene.
Thank YOU for taking the time to read our material, Siegfried. We appreciate you!
Always grateful for what you write and giving us advice. One question. Is garlic still as potent cooked? I have a recipe where you cook a whole bulb of garlic in some water, 10 minutes, then add Lime juice and Manuka Honey, drain it, keep it bottled in fridge and take 3 spoonfuls a day. Is it still beneficial?
Thank you Charlene
I do know that to increase potency you should leave it for at least 4 mins after you have chopped it to release the allicin.
If you can’t have grains as in buckwheat, you could use almond flour, coconut flour, arrowroot starch, tapioca starch. You might want to experiment with these flours and might want to use a little of a couple different ones.
I just finished radiation for breast cancer. Now they want me to take an estrogen blocker that has horrendous side effects. What can I do naturally? I dont want anymore chemicals. I’m over 65yrs. Postmenapisal. PLEASE HELP ME. Bless You!
Hi Betty –
We’re so sorry to hear this!
I’ll be sure to keep you in my prayers.
Unfortunately, we are unable to give any kind of medical advice. The best advice we can give you is to consult with one of the doctors we interviewed in the Global series.
Please note that we are not able to select an expert for you.
We’ve created a page with the experts’ contact info as it was available to us.
Here’s the link to the actual webpage:
http://thetruthaboutcancer.com/experts-info-sheet/
We do have one more resource you may be interested in. During our Live Event 2017 series, Dr. Patrick Quillin suggested contacting The Institute of Functional Medicine to locate a practitioner in your area.
If you are interested, here is the link to search for a Functional Medicine Practitioner in your area: https://www.ifm.org/find-a-practitioner/
I’m also attaching the info about the Hope4Cancer clinic in Tijuana, MX if you’d like to reach out to them.
http://www.hope4cancer.com/
https://hope4cancer.com/schedule-a-call/
Please also see the resources below in case they will be helpful to you.
From our beginning, we have supported charities that really help these cancer patients.
HealingStrong:
http://healingstrong.com/
https://www.facebook.com/healingstrong
HealingStrong supports MANY cancer patients and are amazing. HealingStrong, a nonprofit organization, is supported 100% by volunteers, who are experienced in using natural strategies. The organization’s mission is to educate, encourage, equip, and empower those seeking comprehensive natural strategies to heal strong and stay strong.
HealingStrong Connect Groups meet monthly in various areas of the U.S. and South Australia to link others interested in natural strategies, holistic protocols, and local resources. Their groups focus on mind, body and emotional healing based on Biblical promises, as they believe the God of the Bible is our healer. For more information on how to start a group, or become involved in one, please go to: http://www.healingstrong.org/groups, and like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/healingstrong.
Cancer Crackdown is so awesome and helps patients without a lot of money get supplements and treatments and even helps them raise money:
http://cancercrackdown.org/
https://www.facebook.com/CancerCrackdown
Also, the Independent Cancer Research Foundation is another charity that we support, also known as Cancer Tutor. They have been a TREMENDOUS help for cancer patients and have a TON of life saving information they give out freely and they do real research into treatments for cancer that are outside of the toxic Big Pharma Big 3:
http://www.theicrf.com/
The best that we can suggest is to contact Healing Strong and Cancer Crackdown for any need in financial resources.
We also support Mary Beth’s “Nick Gonzalez Foundation” which is bringing Nick’s protocol to the people…which is one of the most powerful cancer killing protocols out there.
I hope this is helpful! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us again if there’s anything else we can help with.
Wishing you endless blessings and love!
Thank you for sharing, this! So helpful! 🧡